In the absence of trustworthy federal health communication, researchers, clinicians, and advocates must fill the gap and get accurate info to the public wherever we can.

Federal health sites must share credible evidence-based info aligned with expert consensus, not politicized messaging that erases or distorts science.

Why it matters:
-U.S. maternal health outcomes are already in crisis.
-Disinformation from federal agencies compounds public mistrust.
-When science is replaced with ideology, population health suffers.

Our analysis shows that womenshealth[dot]gov was repurposed to promote gendered power inequalities and anti-LGBTQ+ narratives, rather than to improve health outcomes.

This shift undermines health for everyone.

In place of evidence-based info, new content promoted biological sex essentialism -- portraying women’s bodies as weak or in need of protection, and trans people as a “threat.”

This isn’t health communication. It’s ideology.

Between Jan-Feb 2025, key evidence-based info on maternal health, reproductive health, and social determinants of health was removed from womenshealth[dot]gov.

No credible health content was added.