Judge Orders Federal Health Agencies to Restore Removed Webpages and Deleted Data

A federal judge has ordered federal health agencies to restore websites and datasets that were abruptly pulled down beginning in late January, prompting an outcry from medical and public health communities.

A federal judge today, February 11, gave the Trump administration until 11:59 pm tonight to restore public documents and datasets that were abruptly removed or altered from federal health websites to comply with an executive order on gender ideology.

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered U.S. health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to restore data and webpages that were taken down in recent days to comply with a Trump administration order on gender ideology and diversity rules.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington agreed to issue a temporary restraining order. The judge instructed the government to restore access to several webpages and data. On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an order for agencies to use the term “sex’ and not “gender” in federal policies and documents.

A judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration, ordering it to restore numerous webpages that include health data.