Trump Agrees to Restore Deleted HIV, LGBTQ Health Webpages
Federal health webpages on HIV, LGBTQ issues were deleted under Trump orders erasing transgender identity and opposing DEI.
The Trump administration has agreed to settle a lawsuit by restoring webpages containing health- and science-related information, including resources on HIV and LGBTQ health issues, that had been deleted to comply with a series of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump.
Those orders sought to erase transgender identity from federal law, prohibited agencies from using the term “gender” in policy, and targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across government and the private sector.
Other Trump orders targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in both government and the private sector, and threatened to strip federal funding from events or organizations accused of promoting so-called “gender ideology.”
To comply, federal officials deleted information on a wide range of topics, including pregnancy risks, contraception, opioid use disorder, HIV/AIDS, HIV and STI testing resources, and LGBTQ health issues, according to the Associated Press.
A coalition of nine medical and health organizations — including the Washington State Medical Association and the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care — sued the Trump administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., arguing the deletions hampered doctors’ and medical staff’s ability to access data needed to treat patients.
A similar lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Doctors for America challenged the deletion of many of the same webpages. In July, a judge ordered those pages restored, ruling that HHS and the Office of Personnel Management had acted illegally by bypassing the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires agencies to provide advance notice and allow for public comment before making such changes.
As of last week, 167 of the 200 webpages in the Doctors for America case had been restored, with 33 still under review.
In the Washington State Medical Association case, the Trump administration agreed to restore 100 webpages — some overlapping with those in the Doctors for America lawsuit — as part of the settlement.
“I am extremely proud of the health care community in Washington state and our partners in this case for pushing back on this egregious example of government overreach,” said Dr. John Bramhall, president of the Washington State Medical Association, in a statement announcing the settlement. “This was not a partisan issue — open data benefits everyone, and ensuring its availability should be a bipartisan priority.”
Graham Short, spokesperson for the Washington State Medical Association, said the organization expects the deleted webpages and data to be restored “in the coming weeks.”
Despite the settlement, the Trump administration refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing.
“HHS remains committed to removing radical gender and DEI ideology from federal programs, subject to applicable law, to ensure taxpayer dollars deliver meaningful results for the American people,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement to the AP.
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