FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box: 21161
2300 18th St NW Lbby
Washington, DC 20009-9996
December 22, 2025
Federal Government Restores Access to Critical Public Health Data After DFA Wins Lawsuit
Court victory restores vital public health information relied upon by physicians and public health officials nationwide
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Doctors for America Board President Christine Petrin, MD, MPH, announced today that federal agencies have restored 195 websites containing thousands of pages of essential public health data following DFA’s successful lawsuit against the Federal Administration. The litigation halted the Administration’s unlawful effort to remove decades of critical public health information under one of President Donald Trump’s anti-trans executive orders.
In February, Doctors for America—represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group and later joined by the City of San Francisco—filed suit to preserve access to public health data that physicians depend on to care for patients and that local health departments rely on to protect communities from infectious disease and other public health threats. The removed websites and datasets included information used to track disease outbreaks and guidance related to youth health, LGBTQ+ populations, and reproductive and fertility care.
In July, a federal court sided with Doctors for America and San Francisco, finding that the Federal Administration violated federal law by taking down the websites and ordering their restoration. Federal agencies have now fully restored all 195 impacted websites.
“This victory affirms a fundamental truth: public health decisions must be guided by science, data, and medical expertise—not political ideology,” said Christine Petrin, MD, MPH, President of the Board of Directors of Doctors for America. “Physicians, researchers, and public health officials rely on these federal resources every day to care for patients and protect communities. By restoring this information, the court safeguarded the integrity of our public health infrastructure and ensured that clinicians can continue to deliver evidence-based care to everyone who needs it.”
“These federal agencies exist to serve the American people by protecting public health,” said Zach Shelley, an attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel on the case. “By taking down important health information that physicians and other public health professionals rely on to keep all of us healthy, the government violated its mandate and the law. The court’s decision affirmed that the federal government must follow the law, just like the rest of us.”
“We are so pleased that as a result of our litigation, health care providers will continue to have the tools and data necessary to keep our communities healthy,” said City Attorney Chiu. “Blocking access to accurate public health information puts us all in danger and makes it harder to combat infectious diseases and public health threats. We are grateful the Court found that taking down this scientific information violates the law, and these critical websites have been restored.”
Background
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168, entitled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” Nine days later, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued an unlawful memorandum directing federal agencies to remove websites, social media content, and other outward-facing materials deemed to “inculcate or promote gender ideology.”
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) subsequently directed its agencies—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—to remove information and datasets in compliance with the Executive Order and OPM memo. Following the removals, the CDC posted a notice stating that its “website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.”
The removed materials were routinely used by health professionals to treat patients, conduct research, and respond to public health threats. The datasets covered a wide range of topics, including youth risk behaviors, adolescent and school health, social vulnerability and environmental justice, HIV, contraception, fertility and assisted reproductive technologies, and clinical trial development—many of which had been publicly available for decades, some dating back to the 1990s.
These restored resources are used daily by physicians making real-time clinical decisions in hospitals, clinics, and emergency departments nationwide. Local health departments, including San Francisco’s Department of Public Health (SFDPH), rely on the data to monitor emerging threats, guide public health interventions, and protect community health—work that depends on the national and global reach of agencies like the CDC.
In February, Doctors for America, represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, filed suit challenging the unlawful OPM memo, HHS directive, and resulting removal of public health information. U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates granted a temporary restraining order requiring restoration of the websites. San Francisco later joined the case to represent the perspectives of local public health departments and to challenge the Administration’s attempts at trans erasure.
On July 3, the Court issued a final order finding that the OPM and HHS directives violated federal law and harmed health care professionals. The Court vacated the policies and required restoration of the affected websites. On December 12, Defendants filed a compliance report confirming that all 195 websites covered by the Order had been restored.
The case is Doctors for America v. Office of Personnel Management, et al., U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 25-cv-322. The compliance report can be found here.
For press inquiries or additional information from Doctors for America please contact [email protected].
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About Doctors for America:
Doctors for America (DFA) is a national movement of more than 40,000 physicians and medical students across all 50 states and every specialty who are committed to putting patients over politics. We mobilize and train clinicians to be effective advocates, equipping them with the skills to influence policy and lead change at both state and federal levels. Our work focuses on three core areas: expanding access to affordable care, strengthening community health and prevention, and advancing health justice and equity. Unlike many organizations, DFA does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies, insurers, or for-profit healthcare corporations—ensuring that our voice remains independent, trusted, and grounded solely in what is best for patients. By uniting the trusted voices of doctors and medical trainees, DFA drives policy change, defends evidence-based care, and works to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter or Bluesky.