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Cystic fibrosis can lead to respiratory issues, including worsening lung function, even with the best non-experimental care. Trikafta is currently the focus of a study"backed by a $2.9 million grant from NIH"which seeks to understand what makes the drug so effective in some patients. NIH also funds other cystic fibrosis-related research, laying out $84 million annually to support research related to the disease. "We're extremely grateful to live in a nation that leads the way on medical innovation," Mary Vought wrote in her 2021 post. We sympathize greatly with those that can't afford or struggle to pay for basic medical needs," Vought and his wife wrote for an anti-abortion website after their daughter was born. "Our hearts break for sick children and their families in a new way."

But Vought appears to be shutting that door firmly behind him, helping to mount a dizzying range of attacks on lifesaving medical research at (and beyond) NIH. Funding cuts to NIH"such cuts are temporarily blocked"means that research into rare diseases, already inadequate, may slow down. 95 percent of rare diseases, unlike cystic fibrosis, have no treatment, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, and most organizations lack the budget to fund drug research in partnership with pharmaceutical companies.