People Are Horrified That The CDC Has Reportedly Been Banned From Using Some Words

According to the Washington Post, the seven banned words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based.”

The Trump administration is reportedly forbidding officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using seven words — which include "transgender," "fetus," and "science-based" — in official budget documents for next year, according to the Washington Post.

According to the Post, the banned words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based.”

CDC policy analysts were reportedly told of the banned words at a meeting on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, alternative phrases were offered for some of the words, such as swapping "science-based" or "evidence-based" with "CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes."

For some of the listed words, no replacement suggestions were offered, according to the Post.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, told the Post they “will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all Americans" and that "HHS also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and budget decisions.”

The CDC did not respond to a request for comment by BuzzFeed News.


The Washington Post report prompted a strong response after it was published late Friday.







Many people labelled the move "Orwellian."








Others wondered how the banning of "fetus" might be used against abortion rights.


While many trans people spoke up to fight back against their own erasure.




A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, told BuzzFeed News, "The assertion that HHS has ‘banned words’ is a complete mischaracterization of discussions regarding the budget formulation process."




"HHS will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all Americans," department spokesperson Matt Lloyd said. "HHS also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and budget decisions.”

The Food and Drug Administration also told health website Stat that it had received no such policy to ban certain words in budget or policy documents.


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