House GOP request ban on federally funded ‘transgender animal’ experiments
A group of House Republicans is taking a stand against federal funding for transgender experiments on animals, calling for language to be included in the Fiscal Year 2026 spending bills to prohibit such practices. Led by Republican Reps. Paul Gosar, Elijah Crane, Abraham J. Hamadeh, Lauren Boebert, Brandon Gill, Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Pete Stauber, and Troy E. Nehls, the lawmakers are urging the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not used for these controversial experiments.
The proposed language states, “None of the funds made available by this or any other Act thereafter may be used for research on vertebrate animals for the purpose of studying the effects of drugs, surgery, or other interventions to alter the human body (including by disrupting the body’s development, inhibiting its natural functions, or modifying its appearance) to no longer correspond to its biological sex.”
The Republicans point to numerous National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants issued during the Biden administration that are funding experiments to create “transfeminine” and “transmasculine” lab animals through invasive surgeries and hormone therapies. These animals are subjected to various procedures, including being wounded, shocked, injected with street drugs and vaccines, and more.
Former President Donald Trump has criticized these experiments, and his administration cut over $1 million in federal funding for research on whether rats undergoing hormone therapy were more likely to overdose on a popular party drug. Despite these cuts, there are still 29 active taxpayer-funded grants supporting transgender animal tests.
The White Coat Waste Project, a government watchdog group, has played a crucial role in bringing attention to these experiments and advocating for their discontinuation. Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President of the organization, praised the efforts of Rep. Gosar and others in Congress to halt federally funded experiments that subject lab animals to cruel and unnecessary procedures.
The House Republicans’ letter to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies calls for the inclusion of language in the FY2026 appropriations bill to permanently defund transgender animal tests. They argue that taxpayers should not be forced to finance experiments that are wasteful and inhumane.
In conclusion, the push to prohibit federal funding for transgender experiments on animals reflects a growing concern among lawmakers about the ethical implications of such research. By taking a stand against these practices, House Republicans are working to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used responsibly and that animals are not subjected to unnecessary harm in the name of science.
