CDC Removes Gender And Equity References After President Trump's Executive Orders

Among the money developments in the health department ever since Donald Trump sworn as the United States' 47th president, one of them is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) retracting references to transgender people, gender identity, and equity from its website. This change followed the executive order and a directive from the Federal Office of Personnel Management instructing agencies to eliminate taxpayer-funded programs reflecting "gender ideology". The guidelines issues on Wednesday asked to end "all agency programs that use taxpayer money to promote or reflect gender ideology", and was signed by President Trump.

These changes have significant implications for public health research policy, and healthcare access, especially for the LGBTQ+ communities.

What all have been removed?

Pages which were dedicated to HIV testing and medication guidelines for transgender people, as well as resources to extend support to the LGBTQ+ youth, and specific vaccine recommendations have been removed. Another notable removal was of the references to mpox vaccinations, which had been previously recommended for transgender, nonbinary, or gender diverse individuals.

Among these, the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBBS), a long-standing CDC survey that assessed the health behaviors of high school student too was affected. As its landing page was also temporary taken down, which raised concerns about the data accessibility.

Before these changes, just one search on CDC website would land you to documents referencing transgender individuals, LGBTQ+ communities, and health equity.

What Impact Will It Have?

The first and foremost impact it will have on informed medical decision. This is because doctors, public health officials, and researchers, all rely on CDC data to understand disease risk factors, treatment outcomes, and healthcare access disparities. The removal of references to gender identity can also make it more difficult to address health risks among the transgender community. Studies have shown that transgender people are at a higher risk for HIV, which means removal of HIV testing and treatment guidelines could limit access to crucial healthcare.

Furthermore, this removal would also create disruptions in ongoing research. There are many researchers who depend on CDC data, or researchers who are following up on research already been done. The removal of significant data would erase all the work and efforts put into the follow-up research and they would also face challenges in analyzing trends in the LGBTQ+ health. The YRBSS, for example, has provided valuable insights into the mental health struggles of transgender youth. Previous research found that approximately 75% of transgender youngsters rate their mental health as bad, with one in every five experiencing suicide ideation. Without this understanding, public health officials may struggle to handle such situations effectively.

There is also growing worry about diseases such as STIs, or STDs, because the LGBTQ+ group is disproportionately impacted. Without demographic data on gender identity and sexual orientation, public health specialists will be unable to study and remedy imbalances.

The Trump administration also suspended all external interactions with the CDC, including website updates and scientific research. The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), an important publication for public health experts, has not been issued in recent weeks.