Scientists are grappling with a Trump administration directive requiring a review of already submitted research papers to remove terms now banned by the federal government. The Jan. 31 order applies to studies involving U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) scientists, forcing the removal of terms like gender, nonbinary, transgender, and LGBT from government communications.
Researchers say the mandate undermines science and public health. “It is egregious that a public health agency demands the erasure of medically relevant terminology,” British Medical Journal editors Jocalyn Clark and Kamran Abbasi wrote, calling the order “sinister and ludicrous.”
One affected study on the 2022 U.S. mpox outbreak had passed peer review but was withdrawn because it included demographic data on LGBT populations. CDC co-authors opted to remove their names, but journal policies require all contributors to approve such changes.
Dr. Chris Beyrer of Duke Global Health Institute, who collaborates with the CDC on HIV prevention research, said the order hampers critical studies. “If you can’t use the words, how are we supposed to do HIV surveillance?” he asked. Nearly 75% of new HIV infections in the U.S. occur in gay and bisexual men and transgender women.
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors updated its policies to address the crisis, allowing editors to honor an author’s request for removal under extenuating circumstances.
The CDC has yet to clarify why affected papers violate the order. Researchers fear the directive suppresses scientific integrity and erases essential health data for marginalized communities.
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