US CDC Researchers Face Dire Dilemma Under Trump Administration's Executive Order
In a move that has left the scientific community shaken, researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are struggling to comply with a recent executive order issued by President Donald Trump, which seeks to ban certain terms from federal communications.
The directive, issued on January 31, requires review of papers submitted for publication for content now banned by the government. This includes work that features collaborations with external academic institutions and research focused on issues affecting minority communities.
According to six researchers who have spoken to our correspondent in Chicago, the order has resulted in a significant challenge, as it demands erasure of medically relevant terminology such as "gender," "nonbinary," "transgender," and "LGBT." These terms are crucial for understanding demographic data and populations by race and gender.
"This is egregious that a country's public health agency should demand the erasure of any terminology, particularly medically relevant terminology," said Jocalyn Clark and Kamran Abbasi, editors of the British Medical Journal. "This amounts to the censorship of scientists, breach of rights to free expression, dehumanization of LGBT individuals, and indifference for the American taxpayers and human beings worldwide who support CDC's research."
One notable example is a paper on the successful US mpox outbreak response in 2022, which was co-authored by CDC scientists. The paper had undergone extensive peer review and internal review at the CDC before being given final acceptance. However, when the researchers learned that they could not be published because it did not align with Trump's executive orders, they decided to remove their names from the paper.
The journal's publisher stated that all study contributors must agree in writing to have an author dropped. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has issued new guidance on this issue, stating that while journals may honor authors' requests, all co-authors should be notified of this decision.
Renowned epidemiologist Dr. Chris Beyrer, who has worked with CDC researchers through a US collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, is deeply concerned about the implications of this executive order. He fears that the term "LGBT" could limit HIV surveillance efforts and hinder researchers' ability to understand public health issues critical to minority communities.
"Taking your name off a submitted paper may not be as simple as just, please cross me off," said Dr. John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College. "If the CDC is unable to publish research that contributes meaningfully to our understanding of global health issues, it will ultimately harm American taxpayers and human beings worldwide."
As the situation continues to unfold, researchers and experts are urging caution and advocating for adherence to scientific principles and freedom of expression.