Federal judge demands Trump admin 'restore' webpages on gender ideology at HHS, CDC, FDA

A federal judge has ordered that the Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restore webpages and data that had been deleted in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive order related to gender ideology as litigation moves forward in court.

US District Judge John Bates agreed to a request from Doctors for America, which sought a temporary restraining order. The group filed its suit against the Office of Personnel Management as well as the CDC, FDA, AND HHS on February 4, stating, "The removal of the webpages and datasets creates a dangerous gap in the scientific data available to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, deprives physicians of resources that guide clinical practice, and takes away key resources for communicating and engaging with patients."

The complaint added, "The removal of this information deprives researchers of access to information that is necessary for treating patients, for developing clinical studies that produce results that accurately reflect the effects treatments will have in clinical practice, and for developing practices and policies that protect the health of vulnerable populations and the country as a whole."

Judge Bates wrote in his ruling, "It bears emphasizing who ultimately bears the harm of defendants’ actions: everyday Americans, and most acutely, underprivileged Americans, seeking healthcare. These individuals rely on the care of doctors like Liou and Ramachandran. If those doctors cannot provide these individuals the care they need (and deserve) within the scheduled and often limited time frame, there is a chance that some individuals will not receive treatment, including for severe, life-threatening conditions. The public thus has a strong interest in avoiding these serious injuries to the public health."

During his first day in office, Trump signed the "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" executive order. The order states, "Agencies shall remove all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology, and shall cease issuing such statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages."

According to CBS News, the OPM issued a memo the day after the order was signed ordering all agencies to take down websites, social media accounts, and other public-facing media by 5 pm on January 31 that "inculcate or promote gender ideology."

Doctors for America noted several webpages that had been taken down following the signing, including the "Environmental Justice Index," pages related to HIV testing and treatment, and a webpage on "Diversity Action Plans to Improve Enrollment of Participants from Underrepresented Populations in Clinical Studies."