WSNA joins lawsuit to restore access to federal health resources

The Washington State Nurses Association has joined with eight other plaintiffs in a lawsuit against federal health agencies seeking restoration of databases and other resources pulled from those agencies’ websites. The suit was filed by the Perkins Coie law firm on May 20, 2025, in the U.S. District Courts for the Western District of Washington, in Seattle.

Our coalition partners are a combination of Washington groups—the Washington State Medical Association, and the Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics—along with the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, AcademyHealth, International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Fast-Track Cities Institute, National LGBT Cancer Network, and the Vermont Medical Society.

The databases and other resources were deleted or altered in the name of advancing the Administration’s anti-DEI efforts. But cutting off access to health information has harmed health professionals’ access to current data that is crucial to prevention and care. WSNA members identified dozens of sources of federal data they use which are not accessible. WSNA members who do not regularly access those sites directly are also affected because their practice depends on current scientific, medical, and demographic data.

WSNA has joined this lawsuit because our members cannot provide our patients and communities with the care they need and deserve without access to reliable, up-to-date information. We are proud to be working with a distinguished, broad-based group of partners to resolve this matter and ensure that the public’s health comes before political ideology.

David Keepnews, PhD, JD, RN, FAAN
WSNA Executive Director