Ex-CDC official used 'pregnant people,' pronouns in resignation letter to 'defy' Trump

A former Director for the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases declared that his resignation letter stood in defiance of the Trump administration because he specifically used the term "pregnant people" and signed it with his pronouns.  

Appearing on CNN, Demetre Daskalakis told a panel, "I very specifically use the term pregnant people, and very specifically added my pronouns at the end of my resignation letter to make the point that I am defying this terrible strategy at trying to erase people and not allowing them to express their identities. So I accept the note from the press secretary and counter that with I don't care."

This week, Karoline Leavitt was asked if there would be any others leaving the CDC, to which she replied, "Not to my knowledge."

“I understand there were a few other individuals who resigned after the firing of Ms. Monarez. One of those individuals wrote in his departure statement that he identifies pregnant women as pregnant people, so that’s not someone we want in this administration anyway," she added. 

In Daskalakis's letter, he had written, “The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people." At the bottom of his letter, he added a signature that stated "Demetre C. Daskalakis MD MPH (he/his/him)."

Daskalakis repeatedly claimed that the Trump administration is trying to "erase" transgender people. Some policies in executive orders that have been signed by the president include an order not to allow men to play in women's sports, as well as another order to ban sex change procedures for minors.