Scientists at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been told to recall research papers that have been submitted to external scientific journals. The move aims to remove banned terms regarding gender from the work and its references.
This instruction follows a directive, issued on January 21, for Federal agencies to pause all public communications, pending review of the materials by President Trump’s team.
The latest order, from February 2, directs the CDC to withdraw all its own research papers that are being considered for publication by scientific journals. The manuscripts will be reviewed to check that they comply with the President’s executive order saying that the federal government will only recognize two sexes: male and female. An email to CDC employees listed target words for removal – including gender, transgender, LGBT, nonbinary, and biologically male/female.
The withdrawal order applies to all papers written or co-written by CDC scientists. For manuscripts that originate outside CDC but list its scientists as co-authors, those individuals could be asked to remove their names from the paper.
Concerns are being raised that the removal of terms defining gender and sexuality could limit the ability to address the medical needs of patients in different groups, such as those with HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. Carl Schmid of the HIV and Hepatitis Policy Institute said, “We can't just erase or ignore certain populations when it comes to preventing, treating or researching infectious diseases such as HIV. I certainly hope this is not the intent of these orders.”
Journal editors have expressed concerns around the legality of recalling accepted papers. Alfredo Morabia, Editor in Chief of the AJPH, explained that in those circumstances, “We have the copyright. The author can no longer make changes."
Researchers are concerned that removing valuable public health research from publication will negatively affect America’s ability to prevent and respond to health threats. Rodney E. Rohde, Regents’ Professor of Medical Laboratory Science at Texas State University, says, “It will impact one’s ability to publish important research, issue health alerts, conduct public health continuing education programs, or even interview public health officials. Specifically, these actions will weaken disease surveillance, reduce an already low laboratory capacity, impair public health responses, and impact training and resources.”
Rohde also points out that the Federal order on research papers will have repercussions beyond USA soil. “Personally, this has directly impacted me and my colleagues who are working in the US and/or abroad – some have lost their jobs after relocation for specific public health programs,” he says. “It's not just an ‘over there in another country’ issue. Effective public health is global or #OneHealth.”
Have your say: Could your area of research be affected by language restrictions in scientific papers? Is the withdrawal of accepted papers from journals ethically acceptable? Email us: edit@thepathologist.com
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