Off Limit Words

For the CDC, These 7 Words Are Off Limits

White House forbids 'fetus,' 'transgender,' 'diversity' and 4 others in documents

By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.   (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

(NEWSER) – They're not exactly on par with George Carlin's famous list, but the CDC now has a list of forbidden words all its own. That is, the White House has told the health agency not to use the words in any budget documents being prepared for next year, reports the Washington Post. The banned words—drum roll please—are: “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based.” A senior CDC official informed policy analysts at the agency about the list on Thursday, though she didn't explain why the words were now off limits. The gist, however, seems to be that they might touch on topics the White House doesn't want to broach.

"The administration wants to control what it considers controversial wording from agencies as they submit documents for the president's budget for 2019, expected to be released in February," as Axios puts it. The analyst who told the Post of the list said the reaction in the room was generally "incredulous" given the "ideological" reason behind the move. As the newspaper notes, the list could prove tricky for some CDC offices, including the one doing research on the effect of the Zika virus on fetuses of infected mothers. Another office is working on the prevention of HIV among transgender people.