Trump’s government erases LGBT people from website – again
US president Donald Trump. (Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty)
The Trump administration has once again removed LGBT information from a government website with no explanation.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has deleted several sections explaining that the Affordable Care Act – also known as Obamacare – protects people from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex stereotyping.
This has stoked fears among queer activists that the Trump administration is planning another assault on LGBT rights.
This entire section has been erased (hhs.gov/wayback machine)
Earlier this year, the Health Department removed all mention of lesbian and bisexual women from WomensHealth.gov, which attracts around 700,000 visits per month.
In the latest purge of LGBT facts from HHS literature, the government department also erased information about medical care for transgender individuals from the Civil Rights section of the government site.
For example, one sentence stating that “categorical coverage exclusions or limitations for all health care services related to gender transition are discriminatory” was deleted, with no reason given.
People are still protected on the basis of gender identity and from sex stereotyping, but you wouldn’t know it (hhs.gov/wayback machine)
The revelations, which were discovered by the National Women’s Law Centre, have been condemned by the Democratic National Committee.
The group’s LGBTQ media director Lucas Acosta and its women’s media director, Elizabeth Renda, said in a joint statement: “The Department of Health and Human Services has sent a clear signal that it doesn’t intend to protect the rights of women and LGBTQ individuals.
“The Trump-Pence administration’s decision to hide these resources — and the likely forthcoming action from HHS to roll back enforcement of discrimination protections — is shameful and part of a continued effort to rip away access to medical care for women and LGBTQ people.
US President Donald Trump and US Vice President Mike Pence (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty)
“The Trump-Pence administration might be able to delete language on a webpage, but they can’t erase women and LGBTQ people,” they continued.
“More women and LGBTQ people are stepping up to become activists and volunteers, and even running for office themselves, than ever before.
“This November, women and LGBTQ people will hold Republicans accountable by electing Democrats across the country and up and down the ticket,” the activists vowed.
It was reported last year that under the guidance of Trump’s administration, several government departments had adopted policies which explicitly ban the mention of LGBT issues in federal announcements and programmes.
Trump’s administration is also trying to enact a trans military ban (Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty)
In March, The Department of Housing and Urban Development pulled information relating to LGBT homelessness from its website, and dropped involvement in projects relating to LGBT housing discrimination and homelessness.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department removed references to LGBTQ youth from an annual initiative for sex trafficking victims and attempted to block questions about sexuality and gender identity in the census.
In May, Democratic Representatives Nydia Velázquez and Yvette D. Clarke alleged that the US Small Business Administration had quietly erased resources on LGBT issues since the Trump came to power.
