Science is Under Attack
This letter to the editor, by Laurie Harmon, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on February 27, 2025.
We are rightly concerned about how our American students’ science scores compare to those in other countries. We understand that advancements in science are paramount to our success as American and world citizens. Why, then, is science under attack in America?
Why are our health agencies and their scientific studies being stifled, censored, and hijacked in an ideological campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion? More than a third of the U.S. population is non-white, and over half are women, yet Donald Trump’s regime is flagging and halting federal funding for all science research studies containing the words “minority” or “female” or “underrepresented”. Remember when doctors finally recognized the data on heart attacks came from studies of only males but that heart attacks often presented differently in women? Finally, women and people of color were included in health research studies so that everyone in America (and beyond) could benefit from advancements in science and medicine, thus saving countless lives.
Today, Mr. Trump’s administration is attempting to manipulate health research and downsize vital American health agencies such as the NIH, the CDC, and the FDA. COVID, influenza A & B, measles, tuberculosis, H5N1, H1N9, henipavirus, cancer, and Alzheimer's are still present in America. Limiting research on cures, treatments, vaccinations, and preventions for these ailments, plus many others, puts all Americans at risk. Didn’t Mr. Trump promise to put Americans first?
Withdrawal from the world health community will have even more catastrophic effects on Americans. World health agencies track viruses and contagious diseases around the world. Even with warnings COVID killed 1.2 million Americans. Ebola is far worse, and we will not be ready for it to land on our “great” shores if we withdraw from and dismantle the organizations that monitor, report, and prepare us for such disease outbreaks. An attack on science is an attack on us all. So much for greatness!
Americans need the understanding and technologies that comprehensive scientific research projects produce and that robust health agencies provide. Demand that Mr. Trump end his ideological attacks on and denials of scientific knowledge.