With the stroke of a pen, the NIH's largest and longest study of women's health lost its federal funding in another brutal cut by HHS -- and experts are worried about what losing this vital ongoing study will mean for the field of women's health research.

A spokesperson said Thursday that "NIH initially exceeded its internal targets for contract reductions" in explaining the reversal days after cuts had been announced.

The decades-long research effort has contributed to thousands of research papers, altering medical care for women around the world.