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Press Release
Trump Administration’s Priorities on Full Display: Parasite Outbreak Grows While Anti-Science Agenda Takes Center Stage
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Contact: [email protected]
Trump Administration’s Priorities on Full Display: Parasite Outbreak Grows While Anti-Science Agenda Takes Center Stage
Washington, DC — As a cyclosporiasis outbreak sickens thousands across the country, Trump’s funding cuts created “the perfect storm” that paved the way for this outbreak to take hold. Cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have hampered these agencies’ ability to target and address the cause of the outbreak and caused mass confusion. While fumbling the national response to this serious outbreak, the administration is instead pouring resources into an anti-science, anti-abortion agenda and attacking reproductive care.
This dysfunction and warped priorities were on full display just last week: When Trump’s CDC nominee, Erica Schwartz, was asked whether she agreed with Trump’s actions to make mandatory reporting of the parasite driving this outbreak optional, she admitted it was the first time she heard about that 2025 policy change—yet when Sen. Josh Hawley asked her about abortion surveillance, she stated, without hesitation, that it is a “critical component” of the agency’s work.
Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:
“RFK Jr., Trump, and DOGE have hollowed out the agencies meant to keep Americans safe, and now they can’t even tell us what’s making people sick. This administration is more focused on controlling and tracking personal medical data than tracking the parasite behind this outbreak. As we approach the midterm elections, voters won’t forget Republicans’ warped priorities that are sacrificing the safety of our communities.”
The CDC and FDA have been hit hard by Trump’s sweeping workforce reductions, budget cuts, and structural policy changes. By slashing tens of thousands of positions across federal health agencies, the Trump administration has significantly diminished their capacity to monitor and effectively respond to public health crises and enforce safety rules.
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For over 55 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.
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