Federal court upholds LGBTQ+ health research funding, denouncing discriminatory practices

A U.S. District Court judge has ruled in favor of LGBTQ+ health researchers, issuing a preliminary injunction against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) after the agency revoked funding for several research grants. The lawsuit, GLMA v. NIH, was filed by Lambda Legal on behalf of 16 researchers and GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality.

Judge Lydia Griggsby of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, found that the administration's actions illegally discriminated against the researchers, violating the Fifth Amendment and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. As reported by LGBTQ+ Nation, the suit argues that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), under HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., unlawfully revoked funding from existing grants and blocked other applications from consideration.

"Today’s ruling affirms what health professionals have made clear for decades: LGBTQ+ health research is not optional; it is essential," stated GLMA Executive Director Alex Sheldon. "NIH’s attempt to defund this work was never about science; it was an effort to erase transgender people, LGBTQ+ communities, and the researchers committed to our health. By halting these unlawful terminations, the court has protected both the integrity of public health research and the careers of those advancing it.”

Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Senior Counsel at Lambda Legal, emphasized the importance of the ruling in allowing critical research to continue. "We will continue our fight not to allow this administration to return us to the dark days when our federal government ignored the health needs of LGBTQI+ people,” Gonzalez-Pagan said.

This decision follows a similar ruling in June by a Massachusetts judge, who deemed the administration’s grant funding process "arbitrary and capricious," citing evidence of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. These funding cuts were initiated in response to an executive order targeting "radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing."