Sept. 2, 2025 (Updated Sept. 9)
Defendants in WSMA v. Kennedy Agree to Restore Deleted Public Health Data in Win for Washington's Patients and Health Professionals
Washington State Medical Association celebrates successful outcome of its joint lawsuit challenging federal public health data removals.
Seattle (Tuesday, Sept. 2)-In May, a group of nine medical organizations and public health nonprofits sued the federal government to stop the deletion of vital public health and science data. Today, we are thrilled to announce that the defendants in Washington State Medical Association et al. v. Kennedy et al. have agreed to restore webpages and data that were wrongfully deleted, ensuring that these critical resources are once again available to physicians, scientists, medical professionals, and the American public.
"I am extremely proud of the health care community in Washington state and our partners in this case for pushing back on this egregious example of government overreach" says John Bramhall, MD, PhD, president of the WSMA, the lead plaintiffs in the case representing more than 13,000 physicians in Washington state. "This was not a partisan issue-open data benefits everyone and ensuring its availability should be a bipartisan priority."
Since January, the federal executive branch has deleted or removed information from numerous websites that physicians, nurses, scientists, public health professionals, and others rely upon, removing data on a wide range of topics including pregnancy risks, opioid-use disorder, the AIDS epidemic, and more. WSMA et al. v. Kennedy et al. highlighted the administration's "arbitrary, capricious and unreasoned" decisions to delete these critical resources, which federal law requires be made available to the American people.
"Trust is at the core of pediatrics-parents trust us to put their children first, and we rely on accurate data to guide their care," says James Polo, MD, president of the Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, a co-plaintiff in the suit. "When critical health information disappeared overnight, that trust was undermined and children's health was put at risk. By joining this effort, we were sending a clear message: politics must never interfere with the care of Washington's kids. Families can count on us to advocate for access to reliable, evidence-based information so every child has the best chance to grow up healthy and strong"
The terms of the settlement require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the defendants in the case, restore websites and data sources identified in the complaint that were unlawfully taken down earlier this year and have not already been restored.
"This was trusted health information that vanished in a blink of an eye-resources that, among other things, physicians rely on to manage patients' health conditions and overall care," says Dr. Bramhall. "Not only was our ability to provide care to our patients compromised, but our trust in our federal health institutions has also been badly shaken. As the leading voice for physicians in Washington state, the WSMA engaged in this legal effort to resist interference into the physician-patient relationship and to show patients and communities that regardless of the whims of governments or politics, physicians are committed to providing accurate, evidence-based care to patients and we will fight any intrusion into our ability to do so."
The lawsuit's nine plaintiffs are the following: Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Nurses Association, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, AcademyHealth, Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, National LGBT Cancer Network, and Vermont Medical Society.
Physician interviews available upon request.
For more information contact:
Graham Short
WSMA Director of Communications
gfs@wsma.org / 206.329.6851 cell/text
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BACKGROUND AND MORE
Relevant EOs: Executive Order 14168, titled "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," was signed on January 20, 2025. Executive Order 14151, titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," was signed the same day.
List of affected websites: Includes NIH's HIV Risk Reduction Tool, HRSA FAQs for Mpox treatment, HRSA information about opioid use among women, various resources on health issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, guidance to integrate diversity and inclusion in work related to mental-health assistance for the homeless, training modules from NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health, information related to transgender behavioral-health disparities, an HHS reading list titled "Advancing Better Health Through Better Understanding for Black and African American Communities: Health Literacy, Health Care Access, and Culturally Appropriate Care," and HHS's website dedicated to reproductive rights.
About WSMA: The Washington State Medical Association represents more than 13,000 physicians, resident physicians, physician assistants, and medical students across all specialties and practice types in Washington state. The WSMA has advocated on behalf of the house of medicine for more than 125 years. Our vision is to make Washington state the best place to practice medicine and receive care.
About WCAAP: The Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics represents over 1200 pediatric health care professionals from across Washington state. Our mission is to optimize the health and well-being of children and their families while advancing pediatric care. WCAAP frames and leads the public discussion on child health issues, advances public policy to benefit children, and empowers pediatric clinicians to provide quality medical care.