The government website, reproductiverights.gov, appeared to be offline on the evening of The inauguration of President Donald Trump.
The site, launched in 2022 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a public awareness campaign, contained information on access to abortion and reproductive health care as well as a patient information sheet Know your rights.
“Reproductive health care, including access to birth control and safe and legal abortion care, is an essential part of your health and well-being,” the website reads. “Although Roe v. Wade has been overturned, abortion remains legal in many states and other reproductive health care services remain protected by law.”
The site claims that most employer health plans and private health insurance plans are required to cover certain prescription contraceptive methods under the Affordable Care Act, which Trump passed. made calls repeal. It also featured a list of other services covered by most insurance plans, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care and HIV testing.
The site reiterated that while the legality of abortion varies by state, Mifepristonein a regimen with misoprostol – otherwise known as medical abortion – has been approved by the FDA and is safe and effective when used correctly.
It’s unclear exactly when the site was shut down, but it was active as recently as January 15.
CBS News reached out to the Trump administration for clarification on why the site was down, but did not receive a response.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was Trump’s pick to oversee the Department of Health and Human Services, has reversed course on his public stance on abortion. He said on Facebook last year that “abortion should be legal up to a certain number of weeks, and restricted thereafter”, but he also wrote that “every abortion is a tragedy”, calling for abortions to be reduced” by better supporting mothers, parents and families.”
In 2023, he told an NBC News reporter that he would support a national ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy, but hours later a Kennedy spokesperson said he “does not did not support legislation banning abortion,” the media outlet said. reported.
Trump, meanwhile, has said that abortion decisions should be left to the states and that he veto a federal ban on abortion while repeatedly taking credit for overturning Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 12 states currently have a total ban on abortion, and in four states, abortion is banned after six weeks, when most women do not yet know they are pregnant. According to a CBS News Pollmost Americans continue to advocate that abortion be legal in all or most cases.