CDC ordered to remove research papers that use the terms “LGBT,” “pregnant people” and more
According to the New York Times, scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were ordered to pull out any pending research submitted to publications that mention the terms “pregnant people,” “transgender,” “LGBT,” and “immigrant.”
In an email viewed by The New York Times, the CDC’s associate director for science, Sam Posner, directed employees to remove research papers “that promote or inculcate gender ideology or that have been flagged as at risk for such.” In the memo, Posner reportedly provided language to use to send to journals when requesting the removal: “Consistent with the President’s Executive Order titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, I am removing myself as a coauthor from this submission.”
Additionally, many informational health sites have gone missing since the Trump administration took office, specifically on topics like HIV, transgender people, health disparities, and contraception. On Saturday, as reported by Stat News, advisers to the CDC asked in a letter to explain the removal of information and data from CDC websites. Specifically, the letter asks for answers by February 7. “As far as we are aware, these unprecedented actions have yet to be explained by CDC,” the advisors said.
Last week, news broke that the Trump administration put a “pause” on federal health agency communications. According to a memo obtained by NPR, the directive told federal health agencies to stop most external communications for the time being, which includes issuing documents, guidance or notices, until they could be approved by “a presidential appointee.” This also includes communication on social media. The action, according to the document, is “consistent with precedent,” and reportedly only applied until February 1. However, as reported by the New York Times, the directive was indefinitely extended on Saturday, according to a separate email obtained by the publication.
Previously, a CDC spokesperson told Salon that the initial HHS directive was a “short pause to allow the new team to set up a process for review and prioritization.” Exceptions could be made but would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Public health experts are concerned about how this pause can affect public health during a time when surveillance and communication around the current bird flu situation is needed.
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