'Red state privilege': MD Anderson’s quiet LGBTQ+ push in Texas

One of the world's premier cancer research hospitals, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is hiding behind so-called "red state privilege," leaving the public in the dark about its ongoing support for LGBTQ issues.

Information and documents obtained by Blaze News from a whistleblower inside the hospital demonstrate MD Anderson's continuing LGBTQ-focused research and groups, even as its public-facing website appears to keep such promotion a secret. The whistleblower spoke with Blaze News on the condition of anonymity.

'It's good to be in a red state these days'

MD Anderson, a nonprofit that nevertheless receives some state funding as part of the University of Texas System, may keep its public support for LGBTQ issues rather muted with President Donald Trump back in the Oval Office, but its president, Dr. Peter Pisters, appears to believe the hospital can still participate in woke activism behind the scenes on account of its "red state privilege."

The whistleblower told Blaze News that it is "common knowledge" that Pisters, like other MD Anderson officials, is a "true believer" in woke causes and regularly discusses the hospital's "red state privilege" with top hospital executives, even though "he doesn't speak freely like that to the faculty."

By "red state privilege," Pisters generally means that MD Anderson can maintain most lines of federal funding and avoid serious scrutiny from the Trump administration about its woke policies and research interests because the state of Texas is generally perceived to be conservative, the whistleblower explained.

'The longer they get away with it, the more this continues.'

According to minutes from the Strategy Leaders Forum on June 6, Dr. Pisters assured forum attendees that the Trump administration "is not looking at MD Anderson since we are afforded red state privilege, as opposed to our colleagues at Harvard."

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Screenshot given to Blaze News

Dr. David Vining, a professor of diagnostic radiology and the medical director of the Image Processing and Visualization laboratory, recalled Pisters making a similar remark during a "coffee talk" conversation back in early April.

"We will not know the repercussions of what's happening in DC until cuts come our way," Vining wrote in an email. "The potential loss in revenue could be staggering.

"He mentioned that they are working behind the scenes to lobby for the institution," Vining continued, seemingly referring to Pisters, "and that it's good to be in a red state these days."

The hospital did not respond to Blaze News' questions regarding Pisters or "red state privilege."

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Screenshot given to Blaze News

Notably, the Trump administration has targeted medical schools such as Harvard that have allegedly engaged in anti-white discrimination and other institutions of higher education that have seemingly stoked the flames of anti-Americanism on their campuses. Trump has also issued an executive order prohibiting the "chemical and surgical mutilation" of children related to so-called "gender affirming care."

"Anderson is the crown jewel of the UT System. They exceed financial performance of every other UT institution by hundreds of millions of dollars. So nothing is done to upset the apple cart. And I would actually argue that they use that wealth to get whatever it is that they want," the whistleblower explained.

'Walk with MD Anderson colleagues in Houston's iconic Pride Parade.'

"They really are a paper tiger," the whistleblower added, referring to MD Anderson executives like Pisters. "... They just rely on the backing of the state to cover up whatever mistakes they've made. And that really is the heart of it.

"The longer they get away with it, the more this continues."

Inside MD Anderson

While corporate and municipal support for Pride Month was down considerably in 2025 in comparison with recent years, Pride Month 2025 celebrations were apparently in full swing at Inside MD Anderson, the hospital's internally facing online board.

"This year, MD Anderson's LGBTQ+ Employee Network has several opportunities for employees to participate in Pride Month both virtually and in-person. All employees are invited to participate," said one 2025 post reviewed by Blaze News.

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Screenshot given to Blaze News

That Inside MD Anderson page, which also included an image of a transgender Pride flag, went on to list seven Pride-related events, culminating in the 2025 Pride Houston 365 LGBT+ Pride Celebration: Festival and Parade. "Walk with MD Anderson colleagues in Houston's iconic Pride Parade," an attending message said.

Screenshot given to Blaze News

According to another photo from Inside MD Anderson, seen here, the LGBTQ+ Employee Network at the hospital is a lively, active group that wore matching green T-shirts, proudly waved the rainbow flag, and hoisted an MD Anderson balloon adorned with rainbow trim during a recent Pride parade. The whistleblower claimed that the photo was from the 2025 parade, but Blaze News could not independently verify that claim.

Blaze News did review another photo at Inside MD Anderson dated 2022 in which parade participants from the hospital's LGBTQ+ network wore matching blue or purple T-shirts.

A post on the hospital's official Instagram account further claimed that MD Anderson sponsored the 2024 Pride parade. As of Wednesday, that post remains live.

'One of the most underreported stories in American politics is that the so-called Republican Texas government fully supports, funds, promotes, and forces taxpayers to subsidize DEI and transgender ideology.'

The LGBTQ+ Employee Network appears to be one of only a handful of organized intra-hospital staffing networks at MD Anderson. An apparently outdated webpage — available via internet search but not at the hospital website — about the similarly named LGBTQ+ Network at MD Anderson claims the group works to:

• "ensure that sexual orientation and gender identity are not barriers to full participation in the professional and academic workplace,"
• "present recommendations for increasing awareness and tolerance of LGBTQ+ issues," and
• "foster a sense of community for LGBTQ+ employees."

The outdated webpage likewise promotes the 2019 and 2022 Pride parades in Houston.

Blaze News reached out to an email address for the LGBTQ+ Employee Network that, as of last week, was still available at Inside MD Anderson. We did not receive a response.

MD Anderson did provide a statement about the network, telling Blaze News, "The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has multiple employee networks, including an LGBT network, to provide opportunities for employees to feel connected with their colleagues. Participation in each network is voluntary and open to all employees regardless of whether they personally identify as a member of that group.

"Employee networks are for internal engagement and therefore are not referenced on our public-facing website," the hospital reiterated.

The hospital did not respond to a question about whether staff members in heterosexual relationships and traditional families enjoy similar support services. The hospital also did not clarify whether it provides any funding to the LGBT network.

Out in the open

While LGBTQ+-oriented photos and events are readily promoted at Inside MD Anderson, the public-facing website for the hospital is relatively quiet about LGBTQ-related issues. The "About MD Anderson" website page makes no overt reference to woke-related topics except to list "teamwork and inclusion" among its "core values."

A search of "pride parade" at the website yields only two results, both of them from 2019.

'This grant was canceled in March 2025 as part of the administration’s broader effort to remove gender ideology from federal programs and ensure that public health initiatives remain grounded in evidence-based science.'

In fact, most of its LGBTQ-related materials are years old. For example, a hospital website article from January 2023 cited Dr. Benjamin Schrank, a medical doctor as well as an assistant professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, who co-founded the Sexual and Gender Minority Cancer Care & Research Committee at MD Anderson.

Schrank indicated at the time that LGBTQ+ patients had unique treatment needs because of their fears of substandard care or maltreatment, presumably from bigoted or insensitive medical staff.

"Ultimately, we want all patients to know MD Anderson is a safe place to seek care, and we want to give our patients the resources, support, and dignity they deserve," Schrank said, according to the article, which likewise mentioned Schrank's "husband."

Schrank did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

According to records from the Department of Health and Human Services, MD Anderson has also collected more than $1 million in federal grants for "sexual and gender minority cancer ... research and education" since 2019.

However, in keeping with Trump's promise to Make America Healthy Again and to end "gender ideology extremism," his second administration seems to have cut this line of so-called SGM research funding for MD Anderson.

In a statement to Blaze News, the Department of Health and Human Services said: "This grant was canceled in March 2025 as part of the administration’s broader effort to remove gender ideology from federal programs and ensure that public health initiatives remain grounded in evidence-based science and the best interests of all Americans.

"HHS remains fully committed to advancing rigorous, high-quality cancer research."

MD Anderson did not clarify to Blaze News whether its Sexual and Gender Minority Cancer Care & Research Committee still exists or whether the hospital is still receiving any federal grant money for SGM-related research. It also did not confirm whether it recognizes any juvenile patients as "trans" or SGM.

Instead, the hospital said only that "the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is committed to providing high-quality and safe care to cancer patients" and that it "complies with state and federal laws, including Texas Education Code § 51.3525."

That particular statute regulates institutions of higher education and strictly forbids them to establish policies or infrastructure related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Failure to comply can result in the loss of state funding.

Earlier this year, state Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) introduced the Defunding Indoctrination in Education Act, which seeks to ban institutions of higher education in Texas from "offering programs or courses in LGBTQ or DEI studies." Harrison then refiled it during the special legislative session that began earlier this month, though Gov. Greg Abbott (R) must first add it to the agenda before the legislature can consider it.

Harrison told Blaze News that the ongoing shadowy LGBTQ push at MD Anderson would likely qualify as the kind of propaganda the DIE Act is trying to prevent. "I have no problem believing it's happening [at MD Anderson] because I'm seeing it happen all over the place with DEI or transgender ideology, people just changing the names of it and continuing to fund it at taxpayer expense," he said, characterizing such deception as "taxpayer abuse."

Though Harrison stopped short of agreeing that woke activists in Texas enjoy "red state privilege," he did tell Blaze News that for years Texas has "just been simply coasting on [its] reputation" of conservative values and limited government, a reputation he called a "myth."

"One of the most underreported stories in American politics is that the so-called Republican Texas government fully supports, funds, promotes, and forces taxpayers to subsidize DEI and transgender ideology," he claimed.

Abbott's office did not respond to Blaze News' question about adding the DIE Act to the special session agenda.

A 'very liberal' hospital

MD Anderson annually receives more than $100 million from the National Institutes of Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, so the recent cessation of the "sexual and gender minority cancer ... research and education" grant, which brought in less than $300,000 a year, should not have a major impact on the important research and treatment that the hospital conducts in the fight against cancer.

But the whistleblower indicated to Blaze News that leaders at MD Anderson are generally "very liberal" and push leftist politics, including those regarding LGBTQ, at the hospital.

For instance, the whistleblower revealed that the hospital's internal email system includes a group called the SURG Gender Inclusiveness Committee, though it's unclear whether the committee has ever met or engaged in any meaningful advocacy at the hospital. The whistleblower confirmed to Blaze News that "SURG" is short for "surgery."

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Screenshot given to Blaze News

The hospital has also recently promoted ongoing "sexual and gender minority"-based cancer research. As recently as last September, the hospital offered a "Sexual and Gender Minorities in Cancer Research" professional development event.

Shine Chang, the leader of and contact for the recently canceled SGM grant project at the NIH, was listed as a "co-activity director" for the event.

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Screenshot of MD Anderson website

According to her biographical information on the MD Anderson website, Chang, a member of the Department of Health Disparities Research faculty, is deeply invested in woke medicine. Her research interests include:

• establishing an "LGBTQIA+ cancer research" workforce,
• examining "systemic bias and systems thinking in health science,"
• understanding the role that "financial toxicity" and other factors play in cancer outcomes,
• studying "cancer disparities across multiple demographic factors," and
• "developing culturally and geographically specific cancer prevention curricula."

'Spearheading blood or stem cell drives that invite and welcome LGBTQ peoples to participate as donors.'

Yet another hospital researcher, hematologist Warren Fingrut, sent a blast email to the Graduate Medical Education program in May 2025, less than three months ago, seeking prospective trainees for "projects to engage LGBTQ peoples to healthcare." Fingrut even expressed interest in "spearheading blood or stem cell drives that invite and welcome LGBTQ peoples to participate as donors."

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Screenshot given to Blaze News

Fingrut and Chang did not respond to requests for comment. The hospital also did not respond to questions about transgenderism and whether men can become women or vice versa.

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