FELLOW VETERANS: THIS IS AS WRONG AS SOMEBODY TRYING TO FORBID FLYERS TO USE "ALTITUDE, HEADING, BEARING, WEIGHT & BALANCE.": MY DEMAND: HANDS OFF THE CDC AND OTHER FEDERAL MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC AGENCIES!
(CNN) Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the very agency tasked with saving and protecting the lives of the most vulnerable, are now under order by the Trump administration to stop using words including "vulnerable" in 2018 budget documents, according to The Washington Post.
In a 90-minute briefing on Thursday, policy analysts at the nation's leading public health institute were presented with the menu of seven banned words, an analyst told the paper. On the list: "diversity," "fetus," "transgender," "vulnerable," "entitlement," "science-based" and "evidence-based."
Alternative word choices reportedly were presented in some cases. For instance, in lieu of "evidence-based" or "science-based," an analyst might say, "CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes," the source said. But those working on the Zika virus's effect on developing fetuses may be at a loss for appropriate -- or acceptable -- words.
The reaction in the room was "incredulous," the longtime CDC analyst told the Post. "It was very much, 'Are you serious? Are you kidding?'"
As news of the word ban spreads at the CDC, the analyst expects growing backlash.
"Our subject matter experts will not lay down quietly," the unnamed source said. "This hasn't trickled down to them yet."
