By Julie Steenhuysen and Ted Hesson, Reuters
Donald Trump. Photo: AFP / Getty Images North America / Andrew Harnik
- Missing web pages included statistics on HIV among transgender people, HIV testing
- A database tracking youth behaviors that increase health risks was taken offline
- Advocates say basic health information is 'going dark'
Officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal health agencies are scrubbing or taking down webpages, forms and programs that reflect "gender ideology extremism" on Friday to conform with an executive order that recognises only two sexes: male and female.
CDC webpages that appear to have been removed include statistics on HIV among transgender people and data on health disparities among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. A database tracking behaviors that increase health risks for youth was offline.
The efforts are intended to comply with a two-page memo issued by the Office of Personnel Management on 29 January sent to all heads and acting heads of departments and agencies outlining steps that agencies must take by 5pm ET (2200 GMT) on 31 January.
It specifies that each agency must end all programs that promote or reflect gender ideology as outlined in the executive order by President Donald Trump requiring federal agencies to "recognise women are biologically female, and men are biologically male".
"There's a lot of work going on at the agency to comply," said a source who was not authorised to speak publicly, adding that the CDC is "in the process of taking down anything on the website that doesn't support this executive order".
Missing pages also include those with data on HIV in the United States in general, as well as pages with statistics on HIV in Hispanic/Latino people, women, by age and by race and ethnicity.
For example, a page with information about how people can get HIV tests was offline on Friday, according to the internet Archive, as was a page for doctors with information about testing for HIV and treating patients.
"This is very alarming," said John Peller, head of the AIDS Foundation Chicago. "In many cases, basic health information is going dark."
Timothy Jackson, senior director of policy & advocacy at the group said they are going through the CDC website and printing out information used to educate people about HIV that may not be accessible after Friday.
At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a senior employee this week urged agency leaders to refuse to implement the Trump administration's guidance in an email to acting NIH director Matthew Memoli and other top officials that was seen by Reuters.
The employee, Nate Brought, director of the NIH executive office, said Trump's orders ran contrary to years of NIH research and findings about sexuality and gender.
"By complying with these orders, we will be denigrating the contributions made to the NIH mission by trans and intersex members of our staff, and the contributions of trans and intersex citizens to our society," he wrote.
"These policies will lead to mental health crises or worse for tens of thousands of Americans who contribute productively to our communities."
Neither NIH nor the Department of Health and Human Services immediately responded to a request for comment.
- Reuters
