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What happens if NIH stops funding reproductive health research?
Guttmacher explains why NIH leadership is critical for advancing reproductive health research, warning that anti-abortion efforts to restrict studies on stem cells and fetal tissue could stall medical progress amid a growing reproductive health care crisis.

Transcript: The National Institute of Health NIH is the backbone for health research in the United States. It funds and conducts research on reproductive health areas like contraception, maternal health and infertility. But here's the thing. The person who leads the NIH matters a lot. For years, research involving stem cells or fetal tissue have been a target of anti-abortion activists and policymakers, some of who were part of Trump's first administration.

If the next NIH leader shuts down this type of research, it could stall all sorts of medical breakthroughs. But that's not all. We're living through a reproductive health care crisis. Maternal mortality is rising, access to abortion is under attack and people face barriers to contraception. NIH leadership plays a big role in shaping this research and that could mean the difference between progress and setbacks.

We need this medical research to inform evidence-based policies that advance our health and protect our rights. Want to learn more about how NIH and other federal agencies impact our reproductive health and rights? Check out the link in our bio.