ACOG Will Host Contraceptive Guidance for Ob/Gyns Amid CDC Website Purge

Amid a political environment in which government websites are being gutted of vital health information, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has stepped up to host PDFs of government-issued ob/gyn-related guidance at risk of being purged.

The organization has long listed and linked out to clinical guidance from the CDC and other medical professional associations that it endorses. New additions include the CDC’s U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, which details the safety of different types of contraceptives for people with various medical conditions; the U.S. Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, which focuses on common and complex issues with various contraceptive methods; and the 2021 Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines.

ACOG also uploaded PDFs of the CDC’s recommended immunization schedules for adults, adolescents, and children.

While some government webpages related to these topics remain live, others are newly missing.

“In a scientifically complex field in which new evidence can save lives and dramatically improve outcomes, it is critical for ob/gyns and researchers to have access to the full body of existing research to inform treatment decisions and develop new approaches to care,” said ACOG President Stella Dantas, MD, and CEO Sandra E. Brooks, MD, MBA, in a joint statement.

Dantas and Brooks called on the federal government to continue partnering with the medical community “to make their critical scientific evidence freely available to the public and medical professionals; protect expertise in government programs and agencies; advance policies that invest in health and medical research; and expand access to timely, evidence-based healthcare for all communities.”

The medical eligibility criteria and selective practice recommendations for contraception were last updated in 2024 with recommendations that doctors counsel patients about pain associated with intrauterine device (IUD) insertion. Both were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which under President Trump’s gag order hasn’t been published for 2 consecutive weeks — an alarming first in the CDC publication’s more than 60-year history.

CDC webpages currently note that the “CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.” Specifically, the CDC has been purging its website of topics related to diversity, gender identity, and LGBTQ issues. In addition, CDC researchers have been ordered to retract papers submitted to journals that use words or phrases like non-binary, transgender, LGBT, pregnant people, and more.

David Hackney, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, told MedPage Today that ob/gyns look at medical eligibility criteria quite often.

“There are a lot of different contraceptive options and likewise a lot of different medical conditions so even an experienced ob/gyn will never have everything memorized,” he said, commending ACOG for hosting these guidelines.

Nikki Zite, MD, MPH, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville, agreed that many of the ACOG-endorsed clinical guidance documents are “quick reference materials that ob/gyns utilize in day-to-day patient care.”

“Removing evidence-based scientific information from websites or apps could lead to delays in care or confusion,” she said.

Melissa Simon, MD, an ob/gyn at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago and director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation, said that “right now the fundamentals of health … are vulnerable to attacks from people who are pandering falsities and disinformation,” which is harmful to individuals and society.

Organizations like ACOG hosting factual and trustworthy data about women’s health is “essential,” she told MedPage Today.

Hackney noted that he hopes other professional organizations, like those focusing on infectious diseases and pediatrics, will take similar steps to back up medical resources.

“Given everything going on, we are sadly going to need our professional organizations to step up in this regard,” he said.

Dantas and Brooks echoed that sentiment in their statement.

“Cloaking of information damages healthcare decisions and stifles future innovations and medical developments, leading to long-term consequences for our patients,” they wrote. “We encourage all patients, policymakers, and clinicians to join us in advocating for uncensored access to the best and most current medical evidence and research and for the health and well-being of our communities.”

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