HHS restoring deleted health information following legal challenge
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has agreed to restore webpages with pertinent health and science information that it deleted in order to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump. Specifically, content deemed to have any link to “diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)” was removed from websites operated by the federal government.
The Washington State Medical Association (WSMA), which acted as the plaintiff alongside the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, announced the settlement on Thursday—which is tantamount to a victory, as restoring the deleted information was the purpose of the lawsuit.
At the behest of Trump, HHS hastily purged all “DEI” public health information from agency websites, including facts on birth control, maternal health, opioid addiction, AIDS and more.
WSMA sued, arguing that physicians and patients rely on official government websites for accurate, timely health information. Public health would suffer as a result of such data being suddenly out of reach, the group maintained.
The federal government began the deletion process in January, days after Trump took office.
“As the leading voice for physicians in Washington state, the WSMA engaged in this legal effort to resist interference into the physician-patient relationship and to show patients and communities that regardless of the whims of governments or politics, physicians are committed to providing accurate, evidence-based care to patients and we will fight any intrusion into our ability to do so,” WSMA President John Bramhall, MD, PhD said in a statement.
He applauded the settlement, referring to HHS's actions as an “egregious example of government overreach.”
Per the agreement, HHS will restore the deleted webpages, studies and other documents—more than 100 in total—over the next few weeks.
In response to the settlement, an HHS official said the agency “remains committed to its mission of 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 WSMA said it was “thrilled” by the outcome of its lawsuit, adding that “critical resources are once again available to physicians, scientists, medical professionals and the American public.”
Another similar case, brought by Doctors of America, is still pending in federal court. While the two overlap, its outcome remains unknown and could result in even more public information being recovered.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.