The issue of reproductive rights in America is becoming even further entrenched, with reports that a government reproductive rights website has gone offline, and search results for ‘abortion’ have been scrubbed from the nation’s government health website. This comes on the second day of Donald Trump’s presidency.
As of Wednesday, the most recent search result for ‘abortion’ on the federal Department of Health and Human Services is from January 24, 2020, and it’s about how California violated the rights of two religious organisations that wanted to offer health plans, excluding coverage for abortion.
The total number of results for the term ‘abortion’ is sitting at 166, and when a person tries to search for the most recent items first, no links appear except a message reading “search unreachable”.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, the Biden administration also launched a website, called ‘ReproductiveRights.gov’, whose link is now broken. The site was part of a public awareness campaign, with information on access to abortion and reproductive health care, as well as a Know-Your-Rights patient fact sheet.
NPR has shared this archived version of the site, which is still viewable on the Internet Archive.
A statement on the website reads: “Reproductive health care, including access to birth control and safe and legal abortion care, is an essential part of your health and well-being.”
“While Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion remains legal in many states, and other reproductive health care services remain protected by law.”
The site affirmed that, under the Affordable Care Act (which Trump has made calls to repeal), most employer-based health plans and private health insurance plans are required to cover certain prescription birth control methods, along with other services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care and HIV screenings.
It was also reiterated on the now defunct website that Mifepristone– a medication abortion– has been approved by the FDA and is safe and effective when used correctly.
The exact time that the website went down is not clear, but CBS News reports it had been active as recently as January 15.
The wiped database and broken link reflect quiet moves from the Trump administration to make access to reproductive rights information on government websites more difficult to find.
Despite reproductive rights being a key election issue among voters, particularly women voters, the word ‘abortion’ was not even mentioned in Trump’s inaugural address on Monday.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr has been appointed by Trump to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services. However, Kennedy Jr’s stance towards abortion has been seen as uncertain.
In 2023, Kennedy Jr told an NBC News reporter that he would support a national ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy. Hours later, he flipped his rhetoric, saying he “does not support legislation banning abortion”.