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News
A group of scientists filed a class-action lawsuit against the NIH, alleging the agency is using a list of 235 keywords to flag and terminate research grants on topics like diversity, gender identity, and climate change. Backed by the ACLU, the suit claims the screening violates the First Amendment and bypasses scientific peer review. Researchers who refuse to remove flagged terms risk losing federal funding.
A coalition of scientists, backed by the ACLU and the Center for Science in the Public Interest, filed a class-action lawsuit against the NIH on Wednesday, alleging the agency is unconstitutionally suppressing research it deems ideologically unfavorable. The suit names NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and DOGE as defendants.
At the heart of the complaint: NIH is allegedly using a list of 235 keywords — including "gender," "Latinx," and "climate change" — to flag grants for termination, denial, or forced renegotiation, even after those grants have already passed scientific peer review. Researchers who refuse to remove the flagged terms risk losing their funding entirely.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: The NIH is the world's largest public funder of biomedical research, and this legal battle could reshape how federal science funding is allocated — and whether political ideology can override peer-reviewed scientific merit.
