Right-wing media figures are attacking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and undermining its efforts to promote the coronavirus vaccine because the agency used the phrase “pregnant people” rather than “pregnant women.” They have asserted that “the CDC’s advice is now shaped by political ideology instead of sound science” and that “if you can't tell that pregnant people are women, I won't be taking your advice about what to inject into my body.”
On August 12, the CDC published “new data on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant people,” and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said, “CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19.”
“Pregnant people” is an inclusive term that recognizes trans and nonbinary people can be pregnant. The phrase also of course encompasses all pregnant women.
Nevertheless, right-wing media have repeatedly attacked scientists and medical professionals who use the term, falsely claiming that it “erases women.” These attacks are not new; right-wing media have sensationalized and demonized trans parents for years, including a harassment campaign against a trans couple in July.
Following the CDC’s use of the term, right-wing media denigrated the agency and suggested that its credibility on vaccines and “science” was undermined, ignoring their own role in promoting misinformation about and distrust in vaccines:
- On August 12, Newsmax hosts Jenn Pellegrino and Steve Cortes attacked the CDC and Walensky for using the term “pregnant people.” Pellegrino said, “As if this pandemic hasn’t been political enough, the Biden administration is now combining gender identity, of all things, with their vaccine rollout.” Cortes replied, “For any scientist to make a statement that ‘people’ have babies instead of ‘women’ -- it's part of why public trust has been so eroded. And so, you know, naturally we laugh at how ludicrous these statements are, and they are, but there's also a really serious fallout.”