By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -Medical advocacy group Doctors for America on Tuesday sued the main U.S. health agencies over the sudden removal of websites containing public health information in response to an executive order by President Donald Trump targeting “gender ideology extremism.”

The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C. federal court, says that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed “numerous” longstanding websites since the order without notice, including a page on behavioral health risks among youth and a page with information on prescribing drugs that prevent HIV infection.

The lawsuit by the liberal-leaning group also says that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has removed pages recommending increased participation of women and underrepresented groups in clinical trials.

“The removal of this information deprives researchers of access to information that is necessary for treating patients, for developing clinical studies that produce results that accurately reflect the effects treatments will have in clinical practice, and for developing practices and policies that protect the health of vulnerable populations and the country as a whole,” the lawsuit said.

Trump on Jan. 20 signed an executive order that the United States will recognize two sexes, male and female. On Jan. 29, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management issued a memorandum instructing agencies to take down any public-facing materials that “promote gender ideology.”

Tuesday’s lawsuit names the CDC, FDA, their parent agency the Department of Health and Human Services as defendants. It asks the court to rule that OPM’s memorandum exceeded the agency’s authority and to order the websites restored.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis)

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