Doctors for America, a non-profit medical advocacy organization in the US, has sued the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alleging that the removal of public health information considered to be a part of “gender ideology extremism,” pursuant to an executive order signed by Donald Trump, is harmful.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in US District Court for the District of Columbia, and asserts that the defendants removed a “broad range of health-related data and other information used every day by health professionals to diagnose and treat patients and by researchers to advance public health, including through clinical trials meant to establish the safety and efficacy of medical products.”

The plaintiffs argue that the deletion of such information produces gaps in scientific information that monitors disease outbreaks and denies medical personnel and researchers of resources and access to data needed to effectively treat patients. Trump’s executive order, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” signed on January 20, instructed health agencies to use definitions used in the order. The order recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and defines sex as “individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female,” which, the order states, is not changeable.

The OPM released a memorandum, “Initial Guidance Regarding President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women,” which states that agencies must remove information that promotes gender ideology. The plaintiffs contend that the “memorandum exceeds the authority granted to it by law.” Information removed from websites includes mental health challenges by youth, such as bullying and exposure to vaping, identification of communities with barriers to maternal healthcare, identification of communities at risk from natural disasters for first responders to be better prepared, and data gathered from health labs pertaining to understanding the distribution of HIV among different populations.

The plaintiffs ask the court to declare that the health agencies have violated the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) and Administrative Procedure Act (APA), order them to conform to restore the webpages.

The executive order removes gender identity protections, challenges life-saving healthcare for trans people and, according to the ACLU, threatens “the freedom of self-determination and self-expression for all.” With the Trump administration eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), various human rights organizations have sworn to advocate for minorities and oppose Trump’s agenda.