US awards $35,000 grant to study “gender minority birthing people”

Illustrative image of a pregnant woman at a doctor's appointment. Photo: UOJ

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has awarded $35,000 for a study into the mental health of “sexual and gender minority birthing people,” The College Fix reports.

The project, led by University of Maryland graduate student Ponda Ezra, will examine how social support and medical care affect the mental health of lesbians, gender-nonconforming people, and other members of the LGBTQ community during pregnancy and after childbirth.

According to the institute, the study began in February 2026 and will continue until at least 2029. The project description claims that the needs of sexual and gender minorities differ from those of “heterosexual cisgender women,” prompting the researchers to develop specialized forms of medical support.

The funding drew criticism from the Independent Women’s Forum. Beth Parlato, the organization’s senior legal counsel, said public money should not be used to introduce gender ideology into scientific research and stressed that pregnancy is a biological characteristic of women.

According to Parlato, replacing the word “women” with the phrase “birthing people” conflates biological sex with sexual orientation and gender identity. 

“When researchers erase sex from research about pregnancy and childbirth, they risk obscuring the very biological distinctions that sound medical research depends upon, ultimately making it more difficult to identify and address health outcomes unique to women,” Parlato said.

As previously reported, a Greek hierarch criticized new school textbooks promoting LGBTQ ideology.

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