CDC bans the word transgender

[Devlyn]

*-You are right Devlyn, Only the instructions to ban the seven words have been put forward. So far no action has been taken. But it will. But the choice of words in those instructions are suspect. Just as religious leaders calling us an abomination. So far it is just words. What happens when we are disappeared? What happens when law enforcement arrests us for gathering like the Jews, disabled, sexually diverse of Germany, we will be exterminated. How long before someone builds a comedy routine about the 7 dirty words?

DING DING DING DING DING!

Godwin's Law and Carlin in one paragraph....you win the Internet! 

Hugs, Devlyn

[Dena]

DING DING DING DING DING!

Godwin's Law and Carlin in one paragraph....you win the Internet! 

Hugs, Devlyn

You forgot Lenny Bruce

[Michelle_P]

The ban as currently phrased forbids the use of these terms within both budget documents, and supporting documents submitted with the budget, including research abstracts and study proposals.  That's a fairly significant footprint.

As far as why the CDC would be concerned with transgender persons, well, there are medical implications and impacts out there that are relevant to the transgender community.  Under the CDC, for example, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention is working on ways to prevent HIV among transgender people and reduce health disparities.   Transwomen have an HIV infection rate about four times higher than the general population within the USA.  In a recent WHO report, there was a meta-analysis demonstrating that a transgender woman was 49 times as likely to be living with HIV [than the general population] in 15 countries in which data was looked at and analyzed.  Access to care and treatment management for medical issues the transgender community is prone to have also falls under the CDC.

[Laurie]

  As with many of the things coming out of the white house, this has the feel of a dictatorial demand to it. It makes absolutely no sense and seems completely arbitrary until you factor in the extremist right wing political bias of this administration.

[LanaR]

From Gizmodo's commentary on this subject

...

In other words, the agency charged with protecting Americans from epidemics and safeguarding the health of the public must now formally avoid saying anything even slightly politically inconvenient to Republicans if it wants funding.

...

and finish with

...

Anyone paying attention to the current administration's stance on science will recall similar instances in which federal researchers worried it was going to kill off reports on climate change, or it put climate change deniers and chemical lobbyists in charge at the Environmental Protection Agency, or it tried to make the FDA's chief scientist a guy whose previous experience mostly included blogging about "race traitors." So, yeah, no word on whether the White House has requested the CDC get back into phrenology, but don't worry. There's plenty of fresh hell waiting for us in 2018.

Gizmodo, Tom McKay, December 16, 2017

[AnonyMs]

Perhaps it will help to look at what the actually CDC does.

What we know
    Zika virus can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus.
    Infection during pregnancy can cause a birth defect called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects
https://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/index.html

National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Addressing the health needs of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) is a key part of HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention. Find information and resources related to the health of LGBT individuals.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/sexual-id-orientation.htm

Transgender Persons
https://www.cdc.gov/lgbthealth/transgender.htm

I got a couple of the links from here.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hhs-disputes-report-banned-cdc-words-diversity-fetus/story?id=51832679

And the banned words themselves: evidence-based, science-based, entitlement, vulnerable, diversity, transgender, fetus.

[Virginia 71]

Its either a deliberate push from the religious right or an effort to avoid drawing attention from it. I would not be surprised if it originated from Pence. With the other things that 45 and his administration has done to the trans population I think this is just another effort to make us disappear. What to a bunch of religious zealots care if trans people, or anyone for that matter, are dying from AIDS? Not allowing the CDC to use the word "Fetus" means other agencies likely won't be able to soon as well. What will they say? "Unborn child" is my guess, and the reason they want that is to make it easier to advance their pro-life agenda.

Separation of Church and State is eroding under this administration. How we are going to check that I don't know.

[LexiDreamer]

Its either a deliberate push from the religious right or an effort to avoid drawing attention from it. I would not be surprised if it originated from Pence. With the other things that 45 and his administration has done to the trans population I think this is just another effort to make us disappear. What to a bunch of religious zealots care if trans people, or anyone for that matter, are dying from AIDS? Not allowing the CDC to use the word "Fetus" means other agencies likely won't be able to soon as well. What will they say? "Unborn child" is my guess, and the reason they want that is to make it easier to advance their pro-life agenda.

Separation of Church and State is eroding under this administration. How we are going to check that I don't know.

I agree. I was thinking the same thing. It sounds like something Pence and his cronies are peddling.
It's a way to delegitimize "science-based" facts in government.
"Fetus" is the scientific term for the unborn.
"Transgender" is the scientific term for those of us that don't identify with the gender we were assigned.
"Diversity" is the scientific term for differences in a population (of everything).
What purpose does it serve to eliminate these terms other than to deny they exist, especially for a government entity that should be above politics, religion, and bias and only based on scientific facts?
Let's eliminate "vulnerable" too, since no one is truly vulnerable... POC just need to work harder just like the rest of the marginalized populations.

I think the article is justly sounding the alarm... I can see no benign reason for banning any scientific terms from a budget perspective or any other documentation.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

[itsApril]

. . . Not allowing the CDC to use the word "Fetus" means other agencies likely won't be able to soon as well. . . .

Prophetic words, Virginia 71!  Similar directives to the one at CDC are also being implemented in other Health and Human Services agencies as well.

Words banned at CDC were also banned at other HHS agencies: report
BY BROOKE SEIPEL - 12/16/17 09:49 PM EST
The Hill
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/365292-words-banned-at-cdc-were-also-banned-at-other-hhs-agencies-report

"Multiple agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have reportedly been told by the Trump administration that they cannot use certain phrases in official documents. 

"Officials from two HHS agencies, who asked that their names and agencies remain anonymous, told The Washington Post that they had been given a list of "forbidden" words similar to the one given to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)."

[SadieBlake]

Dev, I'd you're going to call out dropping a Godwin, keep in mind that pres 44 also dropped a Godwin last week. When the most respected president in my lifetime thinks that's a line worth crossing, I'm inclined to agree.

That said, this feels more Orwellian to me. How long before "thoughtcrime" can be expected to be a reality?

This said, trust me, career scientists are pissed. Hell, I had a to the mat argument with a boss 20 years ago just because she was insisting I use passive voice in a document being written for the FDA.

The people who trump is trying to censor are the ones who give him his computers, cellphone, Twitter account, healthcare etc etc etc. This is how the occupy movement which said how people felt about Bush II becomes active resistance which is what we're seeing today.