Multiple health agency websites on HIV, contraception taken down to comply with executive orders

(WASHINGTON) — Government agency webpages about HIV, LGBTQ+ people and multiple other public health topics were down as of Friday evening due to President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at gender ideology and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Some of the terms being flagged for removal include pregnant people, chestfeeding, diversity, DEI and references to vaccines, health and gender equity, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity.

Entire databases have also been temporarily removed.

Researchers confirmed to ABC News they were scrambling to collect and archive as much data as possible from the sites before they were taken down.

Some pages might be returned to public view after the language is reviewed and removed, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC said, though it’s not clear which pages.

Removed pages included key CDC information on the rate of HIV diagnoses, breakdowns of infections by race and gender and the probability of HIV transmission by various forms of sex.

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a national survey system that collects various habits on teenagers as well as their gender identity, is also down.

The CDC’s “HIV Risk Reduction Tool,” an interactive tool that allowed users to gauge the risk of certain sexual behaviors, has also been erased.

For now, the agency appears to have consolidated all of its information about the virus that causes AIDS into a single, simplified page titled, “About HIV.”

Another website, reproductiverights.gov, which provided resources on reproductive care and abortion access, was also removed. The Food and Drug Administration’s webpage titled “Minority Health and Health Equity” was also down.

Asked Friday afternoon in the Oval Office if government websites would be shut down to be scrubbed, the president said it wouldn’t be a “bad idea.”

“I don’t know — it doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me,” Trump said.

“DEI … would have ruined our country, and now it’s dead. I think DEI is dead. So, if they want to scrub the website, that’s OK with me. But I can’t tell you,” Trump continued. Trump’s executive order on DEI called for an “end” to any related policies within the federal government.

The other executive order, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” directed the federal government to recognize only two sexes: male and female.

A memo sent to HHS officials on Wednesday directed subagencies such as the CDC to remove “all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology” by 5 p.m. on Friday.

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