Row over ban on words in US Budget document
Many organisations call on govt to reverse decision
Washington, Dec. 17: The US centres for disease control and prevention’s reported move to ban words including “foetus,” “diversity” and “transgender” in budget- related documents triggered outrage, astonishment and calls for the decision to be reversed on Saturday.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that policy analysts were told at a meeting of the forbidden terms, which one analyst said also included “science- based,” “evidencebased,” “vulnerable” and “entitlement.”
Faced with a growing backlash, the department of health and human services, which oversees the CDC, termed the reported ban on use of the words a “complete mischaracterisation.”
“Among the words forbidden to be used in @ CDCgov budget documents are ‘ evidencebased’ and ‘ sciencebased.’ Here’s a word that’s still allowed: ridiculous,” the American association for the advancement of Science wrote on its Twitter account.
Michael Halpern, the deputy director of the center for science and democracy, said “effectively tackling public health challenges means being honest and open about risks and who faces these risks.”
“To prevent the agency from losing its legitimacy, CDC director Fitzgerald must speak up now to reinforce the centrality of science to the agency’s work,” Halpern wrote in a blog post.
The March for Science, which saw thousands of people protest in Washington and elsewhere earlier this year, called for the reported decision to be reversed.
“We call on the administration to remove this ban and on our representatives to protect the scientific communities right to openly discuss their research and its impact on our world,” it said on Twitter. NARAL ProChoice America, added, “Forbidding scientists & researchers from using medically accurate terminology amounts to yet another backdoor tactic to curtail our basic rights & freedoms.”