Medical journals complain of ‘harassment’ from Division of Justice
No less than three medical journals have acquired letters from U.S. Division of Justice that questioned their editorial practices and requirements, prompting a number of journals to push again and assert their independence.
British medical journal The Lancet, which didn’t obtain one of many letters, revealed an editorial describing the inquiries as “harassment” and intimidation, including that U.S. science was being “violently dismembered” by the Trump administration.
Final week, the appearing U.S. lawyer for the District of Columbia Ed Martin despatched a letter to the CHEST Journal, a scientific journal for chest docs, implying it was partisan and asking a collection of questions in regards to the steps it took to incorporate competing viewpoints and defend the general public from misinformation.
The letter drew ire from a First Modification group and a few scientists, who raised considerations that inquiries from legislation enforcement may chill educational freedom and speech. The letter prompted the journal to put up an announcement saying its writer, the American School of Chest Physicians, “helps the journal’s editorial independence.”
This week, the New England Journal of Medication (NEJM) instructed NBC Information it had acquired an analogous letter from the appearing U.S. lawyer.
In a response to the justice division shared with NBC Information, Dr. Eric Rubin, the journal’s editor-in-chief, asserted the journal’s rights as an unbiased writer.
“We use rigorous peer evaluation and editorial processes to make sure the objectivity and reliability of the analysis we publish,” Rubin wrote in a letter. “We assist the editorial independence of medical journals and their First Modification rights to free expression. The Journal actively fosters scholarly scientific dialogue and stays steadfast in its dedication to supporting authors, readers, and sufferers.”
A 3rd journal, Obstetrics and Gynecology, confirmed to NBC Information it additionally acquired a letter from Martin.
“Obstetrics and Gynecology has editorial independence from ACOG however shares our mission of bettering outcomes for all individuals in want of obstetric and gynecologic care,” a spokesperson for the American School of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) wrote in an emailed assertion. “We’re happy with the Journal’s deal with scientific information and patient-centered and respectful, evidence-based care.”
MedPage At present, a medical business information outlet, first reported the existence of the brand new DOJ letters.
The Division of Justice’s D.C. workplace didn’t reply to NBC Information requests for remark.
In the meantime, The Lancet, a British medical journal based greater than 200 years in the past, took a extra strident tone. The journal, which mentioned it had not acquired a letter, revealed a scathing editorial in solidarity with different journals, describing the Justice Division’s letters as “harassment” that comes amid a “wider radical dismantling of the USA’s scientific infrastructure” by the Trump administration.
“That is an apparent ruse to strike concern into journals and impinge on their proper to unbiased editorial oversight. The Lancet stands with CHEST and the opposite medical journals which can be being intimidated by the Trump administration,” the editorial mentioned. “Medical journals shouldn’t count on to be spared by the Trump administration’s assault on science, nor ought to well being establishments such because the NIH, the CDC, or educational medical centres.”
Scientific journals publish research to share new findings and insights with colleagues. Some journals are operated by specialised skilled teams; others are operated by publishing homes targeted on science. Credible journals guarantee research endure peer evaluation, wherein analysis receives scrutiny from outdoors specialists to test for errors or poor analysis practices.
The inquiry into scientific journals comes because the Trump administration has executed funding and personnel cuts to federal science, well being and analysis companies.
NBC Information requested data from a number of main teams of scientific and medical journals about whether or not they’d acquired comparable letters from the justice division.
Representatives from Science, Elsevier, Nature and JAMA, the medical journal of the American Medical Affiliation, didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The Wiley publishing firm mentioned it was “conscious of the letter” from the U.S. Lawyer, however didn’t elaborate.
“We stay dedicated to editorial independence, scholarly rigor, and the very best requirements of publishing ethics,” a Wiley spokesperson mentioned in an announcement. “Our journals consider submissions based mostly on (scientific) advantage, and we work intently with society companions to make sure a broad vary of views can contribute to the development of data.”
