Trump admin directs NIH to study ‘regret’ in transgender care

• The Trump administration has ordered the NIH to study “regret and detransition” among transgender individuals following gender-affirming care. A leaked memo used language some condemned and emphasized the urgency of the research, calling it a priority for President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.
• Critics, including public health experts, said the terms are stigmatizing, while others argued that more data on detransition is needed.
• The move follows recent cancellations of federal grants for transgender research.

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The Trump administration is directing the National Institutes of Health to study detransitioning among transgender individuals and any “regret” they may experience following gender-affirming care, according to an internal memo obtained by multiple outlets.

What did the memo say?

The memo was sent out two weeks ago by then-acting director Matthew Memoli. Several anonymous staffers shared the memo with NPR.

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According to the publications, the memo instructed the NIH to study the effects of “social transition and/or chemical and surgical mutilation” in children who transition. The White House specifically requested research on “regret” and “detransition” in both children and adults who have undergone gender-affirming care.

The memo also stated the research is very important to President Donald Trump and Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who would like NIH funding announcements for the research within six months.

Critics criticize language used in memo

Harry Barbee, an assistant professor and social scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, reacted to the memo, telling NPR the terminology has no place in serious scientific or public health discourse.

“Chemical or surgical mutilation? These are deeply offensive terms,” he said. “The language has been historically used to stigmatize trans people. Even the phrase[s] ‘regret’ and ‘detransition’ can be weaponized.”

Supporters call for more research on detransition

On the other side, some argue studies on those who detransition are necessary because regret is a serious topic that needs more data.

“We are starting to see much greater numbers of young people who are seeing that they went down the wrong path for them and they’re now left with irreversible changes to their body and they no longer identify as transgender,” Evgenia Abbruzzese, the co-founder of the group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, told NPR.

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Funding cuts to transgender research

In March, the Trump administration canceled multiple grants used for funding transgender research.