FDA Memo: Stop Using “Disabled, Woman, And Elderly”

Reuters reports:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists have been told to stop using the words “woman,” “disabled” and “elderly” in external communications, part of a list of banned terms that a White House spokesman said had misinterpreted Trump’s executive order.

A list with the file name “Prohibited words” has been circulating since at least last week in official work chats, according to two FDA scientists with direct knowledge of the matter who requested anonymity for fear of professional repercussions.

The list, which has not been previously reported, is sowing further confusion at an agency struggling with the Trump administration’s sweeping firings. “I don’t understand why we can’t use a word like ‘woman,'” one FDA source who received the list told Reuters. “The words on the list would make it almost impossible to do our jobs.”

Read the full article. Earlier this month other federal health agencies were ordered to stop using any words that reference LGBTQ people.