Kirsten Beachy is an educator, a writer, and a mom to two beautiful daughters. One of them, Sallie, has Down syndrome, and faces a 50 percent chance of developing Alzheimer’s sometime in her life. Until recently, groundbreaking federally funded research being done at the Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias—which is supported by the National Institutes of Health—had the potential to offer Sallie a brighter future with more opportunities for her to flourish.
Donald Trump’s indiscriminate, across-the-board spending cuts are changing all of that. So far this administration has de-funded the NIH to the tune of more than $2 billion, thoughtlessly eliminating research grants that held real promise for families like Kirsten’s. For Trump, Elon Musk, and the employees of DOGE, these were just numbers on a page. For Kirsten and her family, they were real-life opportunities for a better future.
Kirsten couldn’t sit idly by while the wreckage of Trump’s cuts unfolded. That’s why she’s speaking out and telling her family’s story. We should all listen to what she has to say.
Kirsten says she is haunted by a quote from Dr. Charles DeCarli, head of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at UC Davis, which had its federal funding cut earlier this year. Speaking of the sudden cut-off of funding to projects like the ones at his institution, Dr. DeCarli said: “Disruptions delay discovery. We would hate to have people succumb to an illness that could have been treated or prevented, had the research continued.”
This is the crux of what’s wrong with Trump’s drive to eliminate scientific research. Even if a new, more humane administration reenters office in the coming years, that’s no guarantee that researchers can simply pick back up where they left off. As Kirsten rightly notes, a delay of just a few weeks can mean years in setbacks. That has massive quality-of-life implications for Sallie, Kirsten, and their whole family.
As a mother and a citizen who loves everything her country is supposed to stand for, Kirsten couldn’t sit idly by while this wreckage unfolded. That’s why she’s speaking out, telling her family’s story, and imploring people not to be bystanders to the daily chaos of this administration. Trump’s cuts are not some abstract news event for her; they’re real life, and they’re threatening her daughter’s future.
We should all listen to what she has to say. Trump has made clear that he doesn’t care about families like hers. The question for the rest of us is: Are we going to stand by as he continues to imperil their future? Or are we going to speak out against the gross injustice being perpetrated in all of our names?
Home of the Brave is a new initiative highlighting the harms of Donald Trump’s second term.
