CDC in Turmoil: Ordered to Withdraw Articles Over ‘Forbidden Terms’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff have been directed to retract any articles slated for publication in medical or scientific journals for review of specific “prohibited terms” such as gender, transgender, and LGBT.

This directive was issued via email last Friday to CDC division leaders by the organization’s lead scientific officer, a government official disclosed to Reuters on Sunday. The exposé first appeared in Inside Medicine on Saturday, which also showed a screenshot listing all the terms to be omitted.

“It’s hard to believe this aligns with the First Amendment. A fundamental right has been revoked,” said Dr. Alfredo Morabia, editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Public Health, in an interview with Reuters. “How can the government dictate which words a journal may use to articulate scientific facts? We must be able to name that reality.”

“Ignoring or deleting certain groups in the context of preventing, treating, or studying diseases like HIV is not an option.”

This action aims to align the CDC with President Donald Trump’s executive order that acknowledges only two genders: male and female. Articles will be retracted to allow review by a Trump-appointed official.

The complete list of “prohibited terms” includes: Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female, as reported by Inside Medicine.

The mandate affects both articles pending review and those approved but unpublished. CDC staff who collaborated on research with external scientists are being asked to detach their names from these studies, according to Reuters.

This new directive follows a similar order from early in the administration that halted all public communications from health agencies, including the CDC. It coincides with reports that CDC webpages and data sets on HIV, LGBTQ issues, youth health, and other subjects were taken down in an effort to comply with Trump’s executive orders on transgender recognition and the prohibition of government diversity and inclusion programs.

“This really is Orwellian,” commented Steven Woolf, director emeritus and senior adviser at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Society and Health.

In response, scientists, science journalists, and public health advocates have been safeguarding the data, archiving all CDC website content as of January 27, 2024, at ACASignups.net, and making downloadable datasets available on Jessica Valenti’s Substack Abortion, Every Day.

“Suppressing data for ideological reasons is not just unscientific, it’s designed to suppress dissent,” virologist Angela Rasmussen stated on social media.

The directive to retract journal articles has sown confusion and uncertainty within the agency, as reported by Inside Medicine:

The exact number of affected manuscripts is unknown, but potentially extensive. Most studies include basic demographic details of studied populations or patients, often mentioning gender—frequently used interchangeably with sex. Virtually any significant study, whether on Covid-19, cancer, heart disease, or any other topic, could be subject to this censorship, especially if deemed part of “woke ideology.”

The atmosphere of chaos and fear is already influencing decisions. While the policy is supposed to apply only to content conflicting with President Trump’s executive orders, the boundaries are unclear. Do studies highlighting health disparities qualify as “woke ideology”? The uncertainty is palpable, and many fear job loss. This has led to what is described in German as “vorauseilender Gehorsam,” or “preemptive obedience,” as noted by a non-CDC scientist.

Concerns are also growing that such extensive censorship could inadvertently harm public health efforts.

“We simply cannot afford to overlook or delete certain groups in efforts against diseases like HIV. I truly hope that isn’t the intention behind these orders,” Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+ Hepatitis Policy Institute, expressed to Reuters.