‘People are going to die’: Thousands rally to protest cuts at science agencies

Thousands rally to protest cuts at science agencies

Thousands of people gathered on the steps in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Friday afternoon, protesting President Donald Trump’s administration’s cuts to federal science agencies and speaking out about the consequences.

The “Stand up For Science” rally drew people from across the country. Similar events were scheduled in over 30 U.S. cities, The Associated Press reported.

Holding signs reading “Vaccines Save Lives” and “Science, the solution not the problem,” the crowd booed the influence of political figures such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“I think by taking away monies, you’re just really hurting science,” said Jane Michalski, who has been doing research for 40 years. “People are going to die. Vaccines are important. I mean, it’s just not wise. It’s shortsighted, and a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. It’s not good.”

Friday’s demonstration was the latest in the series of protests that have popped up across the D.C. region in recent weeks.

As part of the Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce, employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institutes of Health are among those to lose their jobs.

Mary Hollinger, a retired NOAA worker from Huntingtown, Maryland, said cuts to the agency could mean people in the dark when hurricanes or “ice storms are coming.” Cutting funding for some health research programs could impact critical treatments, she said.

“Science makes us great, and we’re screwing everything up,” Hollinger said.

Chris English, meanwhile, said clinical trials are ending and funding for graduate students is getting dropped as a result of changes to grant programs. If that continues, he said, “then you lose the next generation of people who would teach. You never know where a lot of research is going.”

Rachel Elder said it’s “common sense that you need to have science to improve the health of everybody.”

During the event, former NIH Director Francis Collins said research on diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease is at risk because of funding cuts.

“I’m going to leave the politics to the politicians until it’s clear that they don’t really know what they’re doing, and then we have to come out and we have to tell them that what they’re doing is wrong,” Michalski said.

One attendee who asked not to be named said the demonstration “balances the anxiety that people feel, at least it empowers people to remember that it’s not a government run by just a select few. It’s a government run by the people, and the people have a voice. And right now, this is the way that we feel like we can be of most service.”