A Future Unmade
Article By: Nishanthi Jaikumar / Art By: Kailyn Mai
"For people like us who are just trying to get cures… it’s very sad that there’s not more attention around it," Michele Sloan said, describing the struggles her daughter, Elouise, faces. At 19 years old, Elouise suffers from a rare brain disorder called H-ABC, a condition that affects 1 in 200 individuals and has severely limited Elouise’s mobility and speech. Scientists had begun making progress toward treatments, but federal funding cuts halted the research. Michele’s words reflect how deeply political decisions affect lives and how defunding medical research is not just a government revenue issue but a human one.
Elouise’s story is not unique. Across the United States, countless families face the consequences of reduced funding for medical research. The Trump administration’s cuts of over $743 million to some of the biggest global health organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other critical programs have delayed or canceled studies that could have offered life-changing treatments. Each withdrawn grant represents a patient waiting for hope, a researcher forced to abandon work, and a community depending on progress that may never come.
At the same time, healthcare costs continue to rise exponentially, making even existing treatments inaccessible. Prescription medicine prices have increased, insurance premiums have skyrocketed and out of pocket expenses burden families already struggling financially. Many Americans are forced to choose between basic living costs and medication. When research is obstructed and treatment is unaffordable, the effects are felt most by those with the fewest resources.
Rural communities, low income households, and communities of color bear the heaviest burden. Rural hospitals are closing at alarming rates and forcing patients to travel hours for basic care. Communities of color experience limited research funding for diseases that disproportionately affect them, while at the same time facing higher treatment costs and barriers that affect the access to healthcare. The United States was built on the principle of “Equality and Justice for all” yet millions are excluded from those promises when healthcare becomes a privilege only a few can afford.
The consequences extend beyond individual families. For decades, the United States has led the world in medical innovation, developing vaccines, therapies, and technologies that have saved millions of lives globally. Cuts to research threaten this leadership. Other nations are investing heavily in science, positioning themselves to drive the next generation of medical breakthroughs. The discoveries that could define the future of healthcare may increasingly emerge from abroad, while American patients wait for solutions that may never arrive.
Economic impacts are also significant. Medical research drives job creation, technological innovation, and industrial growth. Reductions in funding slow progress and send a discouraging message to young scientists: their work and their contributions may not be valued. Patients and families experience firsthand the consequences such as delays in treatment or the outright cancellation of treatment that once offered hope.
For generations, society has relied on the promise that medical science improves life, protects communities, and builds a healthier tomorrow. Defunding research and allowing healthcare costs to escalate threatens that promise and replaces progress with stagnation and uncertainty.
Without renewed investment in medical research, affordable healthcare, and equal access to treatment, the future that science could deliver may remain out of reach. The choices made today will determine whether families like the Sloans can access the care they desperately need, whether breakthroughs continue to be made and whether the United States maintains its role as a global leader in innovation and compassion
We dream of an America where healthcare is a right, not a privilege. But will our nation invest in a future worth making or continue to stand by as an unmade future becomes our reality?
Sources:
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/trump-proposed-nih-cuts-rare-disease-research/39 53583/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/16/trump-budget-nih-cdc-medical-research-fun ding-cuts
https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/the-presidents-fy-2018-budget-request-global -health/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/05/09/more-than-rural-hospitals-have-closed-si nce/
https://www.shepscenter.unc.edu/programs-projects/rural-health/rural-hospital-closures/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/02/black-maternal-health-infant-trump-cuts
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-administrations-nih-funding-cuts-threaten-research-o n-sickle-cell-disease
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2021/rx-price-watch.htmlhttps://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/tracking-prescription-drug-prices-in-the-us/https://www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/reports/nihs-role-in-sustaining-the-us-economy/
