NEW YORK (AP) — Health leaders say they are alarmed about reports that officials at the nation’s top public health agency are being told not to use certain words in official budget documents, including “fetus,” ”transgender” and “science-based.”

The health community was reacting to a story in The Washington Post , which said the prohibition arose at a meeting of senior budget officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

An anonymous source told the newspaper the seven words and phrases are not to be used in documents being prepared for the next presidential budget proposal.

A CDC official confirmed Saturday there was a recent meeting in which officials were given feedback to reconsider language in budget documents. But another federal official called it a mischaracterization to say certain words have been banned.