CDC Staff Given List of Forbidden Words

CDC Staff Given List of Forbidden Words

At a meeting on December 14, 2017, policy analysts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were reportedly given a list of seven forbidden words, which cannot be used in official documents prepared for next year’s budget. The words are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.” Alternative phrases for some, but not all, of the words were suggested. For example, instead of “science-based” or “evidence-based,” the analysts were told to use the phrase: “CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, indicated that it “will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all Americans.” According to the spokesman, the Department “also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and budget decisions.”