On December 15, 2017, news broke that the Trump administration was prohibiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from using the words “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based” in documents being prepared for next year’s budget.
What Happened: On December 15, 2017, news broke that the Trump administration was prohibiting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from using the words “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based,” and “science-based” in documents being prepared for next year’s budget. This news comes several months after another story revealed the CDC instructed all employees not to speak to reporters “even for a simple data-related question.”
Why it Matters: The CDC is the nation’s top public health agency, and it is imperative that science plays a central role in its decision-making processes. To effectively tackle the myriad of public health threats the agency handles, the CDC must be honest and open about these risks and which populations are the most vulnerable.