(LifeSiteNews) — Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday blasted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for suggesting that abortion is among the 20th century’s “great public health achievements.
Kennedy also took aim at the CDC’s praise of “fluoridation” and “vaccines,” as he spoke to Fox News about his desire to revamp the agency.
RFK Jr: “On the CDC’s website right now they list the 10 greatest advances in medical science and one of them is abortion.”
“The other is fluoridation and another is vaccines.”
“So we need to look at the priorities of the agency.”
“There’s really a deeply embedded, I would… pic.twitter.com/xz7PzIb8YK
— End Tribalism in Politics (@EndTribalism) August 28, 2025
“Today on the CDC’s website right now they list the 10 greatest advances in medical science and one of them is abortion,” said Kennedy, referring to its recognition of “family planning” services, under which it includes abortion.
“Another is fluoridation and another is vaccines,” he continued. “So we need to look at the priorities of the agency. There’s really a deeply embedded, I would say malaise at the agency.”
Kennedy’s statement is especially significant because he has long been firmly pro-abortion politically while attempting to distinguish between his “personal” views on abortion and his belief about whether it should be legal. When he ran as an independent presidential candidate in 2024, he said would sign a federal law codifying a nationwide “right” to abortion.
During this time, he expressed his belief “that every abortion is a tragedy” while insisting that “women should make the choice” of abortion. Last year, he went so far as to declare that he believes women should be able to kill even late-term babies through abortion.
Having been asked during his Fox News interview about CDC Director Susan Monarez’s ouster on Wednesday, Kennedy said he could not comment about personnel issues but that he and his team are working on “fixing” the agency.
“And it may be that some people should not be working there anymore,” Kennedy stated.
Kennedy triggered the ouster when he asked Monarez to resign, The New York Times reported. When she refused, he told her “to fire CDC’s top leadership,” according to an official who spoke anonymously “for fear of retribution.”
“Dr. Monarez then called Bill Cassidy, the Republican Chairman of the Senate Health Committee, who in turn called Kennedy,” the official said. Kennedy was reportedly “furious” and told Monarez she would be fired.
Four top CDC officials resigned after she was ousted: Deb Houry, the agency’s chief medical officer and deputy director; Demetre Daskalakis, head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dan Jernigan, head of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Jennifer Layden, head of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology.
