Trump administration changes language related to reproductive health on government websites and documents

The Trump administration has been open about their family planning priorities, as evidenced in this 2018 blog post. The administration is pushing abstinence and “natural family planning” methods over safe, more effective contraceptives, emphasizing privately held religious values in public health programs.

Now, Sunlight Foundation’s Web Integrity Project, a nonprofit that monitors government sites for changes in information, has tracked the use of several terms related to sex education on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website since Trump’s election.

The term “faith-based” has seen the most increase, with the word now used 34 new times. While not showing as dramatic of an increase, the terms “marriage” “abstinence” and “natural family planning” have increased as well.

Equally concerning are the terms that are being used less: the words “gender” appears 68 fewer times “contraception” 20 fewer times, and “pregnancy” 19 fewer times. “Science-based” and”evidence-based” also saw decreases.

This is very concerning from a bioethics perspective, as the government is supposed to remain neutral on religious matters, and instead is inserting language reflecting privately held religious values into official government documents.

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