Information Removed from CDC Website, Leaving Doctors Scrambling
Website removes data on reproductive, LGBTQ, gender, and racial health issues.
NEWTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — Doctors in Massachusetts said they feel unsettled as pages of health information on the CDC’s website pertaining to reproductive, LGBTQ+, gender and racial health have all been taken down in the past few days, though some have returned.
At Newton Wellesley Hospital, OB/GYN Dr. Kathryn Davis called the CDC’s medical eligibility criteria for contraception her bible.
“It’s not a controversial thing, it’s just straight data in terms of what is safe for women,” said Davis.
The chart helps doctors determine safe contraceptives for patients with complicated medical conditions. This weekend, it vanished from the CDC’s website, leaving doctors guessing.
“We were all using that same resource,” said Davis.
Though the chart was put back online, it left doctors wondering how safe is the information they need to help their patients. Physicians at Newton Wellesley were sent scrambling, printing out the information as a hard copy PDF in case the information online is gone for good.
“It’s like we’re back in the 60s and trying to just piece things together,” said Davis.
The agency is now warning “the CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s executive order.”
“We can’t take it for granted, all of that could be pulled, eliminated at any time,” said Davis.
It’s not just contraception. Data on immunizations, STDs and transgender health has also been removed.
Independent resources have stepped in to help. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said it will host the missing information to maintain access. But will that be enough?
“There is an effort to exclude certain parts of healthcare from what we deliver to our patients,” said Aaron Hoffman, the director of Harvard Medical School’s family planning program. He said this goes beyond missing data because without information, people can’t make informed decisions about their health. “We now are going to be less able to offer our patients the best highest quality advice.”
For Davis, the immediate concern is her patients.
“It’s a targeting of women, it’s a targeting of underserved populations,” said Davis. “I’m scared for my patients, I’m scared for my own 18-year-old daughter. We’re all under fire and none of us are safe.”
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