CDC ban on ‘fetus’ and ‘transgender’ alarming experts

Agency official says ‘feedback’ given but not sure it was a ban.

Health leaders NEW YORK — say they are alarmed about a report that officials at the nation’s top public health agency are being told not to use certain words or phrases in official budget documents, including “fetus,” “transgen- der” and “science-based.”

The health community was reacting to a story in The Washington Post published late Friday citing an anonymous source who said the prohibition was made at a recent meeting of senior budget officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The seven words and phrases — “diversity,” “entitlement,” “fetus,” transgender,” “vulnerable,” “evidence-based” and “sci- ence-based” — were not to be used in documents that are to be circulated within the federal government and Congress in preparation of the next presidential budget proposal, the paper reported.

On Saturday a CDC official confirmed CDC officials were given “feedback” from higher ranks of the federal government at a recent meet- ing to reconsider certain lan- guage in draft budget documents. But she said she did not know if there was any specific prohibition about using those seven words. She spoke on condition of anonymity, saying she was not authorized to talk about what happened.

A spokesman at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CDC, said in a statement that it’s am is characterization to say the CDC was banned from using certain words. But HHS officials did not clarify or answer any other questions.

In an email to the agency’s employees on Saturday night, CDC Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald noted the media report and wrote; “I want to assure you that CDC remains committed to our public health mission as a science- and evidence-based institution. As part of our commitment to provide for the common defense of the country against health threats, science is and will remain the foundation of our work.”

The Atlanta-based CDC is in charge of responding to infectious disease outbreaks, like Ebola and Zika, and tracking a wide range of chronic diseases and other health problems.

For decades, the agency has had a mostly sterling reputation as a source of scientific information. That the agency could be censoring certain language sparked alarm and anger from some science and public health experts.

“Here’s a word that’s still allowed: ‘ridiculous,’” said Rush Holt, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in a statement reacting to the report.

Dr. Sandro Galea, dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health, says these things matter “because the words that we use ultimately describe what we care about and what we think are priorities.”

“If you are saying you cannot use words like ‘transgender’ and ‘diversity,’ it’s a clear statement that you cannot pay attention to these issues.”