Civic Register
| 3.27.18

Lesbian and Bisexual Resources Wiped from HHS Website

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What’s the story?

  • The Department of Health and Human Services has removed pages dedicated to lesbian and bisexual health from WomensHealth.gov.

Why does it matter?

  • Nonprofit government watchdog group the Sunlight Foundation found that sometime between September and October 2017, the HHS "removed a webpage with extensive information about lesbian and bisexual health, and links that correspond to that webpage."

  • A second report by the group "documents the way in which the website’s key resource about lesbian and bisexual health has been made inaccessible."

  • A spokesperson for the HHS said the agency removed outdated information and "integrated [it] into the relevant health topics pages across the website." The Sunlight Foundation, however, could not find the updated content.

Trump administration dropped LGBTQ content from other sites

  • Shortly after President Donald Trump took office, the White House’s LGBT page (whitehouse.gov/lgbt) was removed.

  • A Department of Labor report titled "Advancing LGBT Workplace Rights" was also dropped.

  • In November 2017, the Education Department removed documents aimed at helping transgender students access bathrooms to fit their gender identities.

What do you think?

Is the removed content, as the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association is saying, "tantamount to discrimination against a vulnerable population"? Should the content be replaced? Should the government be required to publicly disclose when they modify websites? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

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(Photo Credit: WomensHealth.gov)