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Monday, December 18, 2017

Banned Words

CDC gets list of forbidden words: Fetus, transgender, diversity...


There are some events and activities by the Trump administration that leave us without words to express our disdain.

Policy analysts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (CDC) were told of the list of forbidden terms at a meeting Thursday with senior CDC officials. The officials  who oversee the budget, according to an analyst who took part in the 90-minute briefing were given forbidden terms. They are “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based” and “science-based.”

In the case of "transgender" and "diversity" no replacement words were immediately offered.

Will banning a word make it go away?  Will banning a concept make it cease to exist? I remember a time when “Sex” was whispered and homosexual was never ever mentioned in polite company. Are we returning to an unenlightened time where words are banned?  It actually sounds archaic.  

The ban is related to the budget and supporting materials that are to be given to the CDC’s partners and to Congress, the analyst said. The president’s budget for 2019 is expected to be released in early February. The budget blueprint is generally shaped to reflect an administration’s priorities.  

According to its website, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) mission is to "enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans. We fulfill that mission by providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.” 

As well the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mission is to, "Increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats."

If a condition exists, is involved with a person's, health, and well-being, and requires support/funding to further understand, how is not being able to mention it anything but censorship/complacency. A clear message is being sent that being transgender is of no significance and as in "not to be mentioned". No funding for study or disease prevention in this population will be made available. We are cut off because of political bias.     

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a written statement”


To pretend and insist that transgender people do not exist, and to allow this lie to infect public health research and prevention is irrational and very dangerous.

The Trump administration is full of dangerous science deniers who have no business near American public health systems like the CDC. They are actually going to kill Americans if they do not stop.
Calling the order "reckless" and "unimaginably dangerous," Dana Singiser, vice president of public policy and government affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, also weighed in:

"You cannot fight against the Zika virus, or improve women's and fetal health, if you are unable to use the word 'fetus.' You must be able to talk about science and evidence if you are to research cures for infectious diseases such as Ebola," Singiser said. "You must be able to acknowledge the humanity of transgender people in order to address their health care needs. You cannot erase health inequities faced by people of color simply by forbidding the use of the words 'vulnerable' or 'diversity'."

"Here's a word that's still allowed," added Rush Holt, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "Ridiculous." 






2 comments:

  1. I have read where this is not true and just a bunch of fake news
    Your friend
    Ramona

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did the meeting take place or not? A lot of reliable news sources reported it over last weekend. From what I saw and read the sources were credible. Even if the "new guidelines were merely (non-mandatroy)", the whole concept of singling out transgender as a "non-suggested" term, marginalizes us.

      There in no way to pretty this up and call it fake news.

      Delete