Funding is cut for a landmark study of women's health

The Trump administration is terminating federal funding for the Women's Health Initiative, a landmark study that has been collecting data on tens of thousands of women for decades. This decision, set to take effect in September 2025, has stunned researchers who describe it as a "huge loss" and "devastating." The study, initiated in the 1990s due to the historical underrepresentation of women in medical research, has produced groundbreaking findings, including the discovery that hormone replacement therapy does not protect a woman's heart and research on the benefits of calcium and vitamin D for bone health. Researchers are particularly concerned about the loss of ongoing data collection, which could provide crucial insights into chronic diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia, a stated priority of the HHS. The termination affects four regional centers responsible for data collection, and the future of the study's coordinating center and its extensive data repository remains unclear. This funding cut comes amidst broader demands for federal agencies to reduce contract spending.