Fort Myers activist reacts to shutdown of government reproductive rights website

The website ReproductiveRights.gov, which offered resources on abortion and reproductive rights, is no longer accessible.

When attempting to visit the site, users are met with a message stating, “This site can’t be reached.”

The website was launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2022 and provided information on accessing birth control, abortion care, and other health services.

Connie Bennett-Martin, president of Women’s March Fort Myers, received numerous messages and emails about the situation.

“I was getting lots of, lots of texts and messages and emails all day,” said Bennett-Martin.

Following the website’s disappearance, social media saw a surge of outrage. Many users began posting about the site’s unavailability after President Donald Trump took office.

Bennett-Martin recently led a march to demonstrate community unity and expressed dissatisfaction with the election results.

“We just wanted to make sure we were showing the community that there is some unity,” said Bennett-Martin. “There are those of us that are really not happy with how the elections went.”

Bennett-Martin said she is also unhappy about the removal of the website.

“What’s really disturbing is, again, not about abortions, it’s about women’s health care,” said Bennett-Martin.

It remains unclear whether the Trump administration was responsible for taking down the site, as no confirmation has been provided.

The exact timing of the site’s removal is also unknown.

Efforts to reach the Department of Health and Human Services for clarification have been made, but no response has been received yet.