Thee Trump administration has reportedly directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—America’s public health agency—to omit seven words from its 2018 budget documents. According to a report from the Washington Post, the news was announced Thursday and promptly enraged those in the public health sector. The thing is, the seven words happen to be pretty key terms for a public health agency to use.

Two of the phrases gone are “transgender” and “diversity”—and in an Orwellian move, alternative phrasings for some of the terms were offered.

Here are the seven banned words:

1. Science-based

2. Evidence-based

3. Fetus

4. Transgender

5. Vulnerable

6. Entitlement

7. Diversity

This is pretty problematic, considering the CDC—as a public health agency—must necessarily make science- and evidence-based decisions in order to protect the nation’s diverse population, which often includes vulnerable groups in health care, such as fetuses requiring adequate prenatal care and people who are transgender and seeking safe medical care. (See what we did there?)

The ban is troubling in a way that goes beyond semantics, too: for example, in its erasure of the transgender population and its implicit denial of health issues faced by people of color who disproportionally live in at-risk communities: “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,” Dana Singiser, vice president of public policy and government affairs for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told CNN. “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’.”

The source who informed the Post—apparently a longtime CDC analyst—told the paper that instead of using “science-based” or “evidence-based” in wording, the following was offered: “CDC bases its recommendations on science in consideration with community standards and wishes.”

The Health and Human Services department is pushing back and calling the Post‘s report fake news.

“The assertion that HHS has ‘banned words’ is a complete mischaracterization of discussions regarding the budget formulation process,” a HHS spokesman told The Hill on Saturday. “HHS will continue to use the best scientific evidence available to improve the health of all Americans. HHS also strongly encourages the use of outcome and evidence data in program evaluations and budget decisions.”

Meanwhile, we’re suddenly feeling a strong urge to re-read 1984 over the holidays.

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