Bay Windows - October 30, 2003
Mubarak Dahir

The fact that such a list exists - for whatever purpose - is a dangerous precedent that could turn scientists off from doing important, controversial and cutting edge work in the areas of AIDS and sexuality. The compiling and publishing of such a list smacks of the worst kind of political bullying and intimidation and could seriously jeopardize the future of scientific research in the already sensitive and politically-plagued areas of HIV and sexuality research.

We have to wonder if this roster of researchers is a "hit list." Will Republicans start going after researchers whose work they disapprove of because it doesn't follow a preordained set of political beliefs and outcomes?

The history of how and why the list was ever generated and given to lawmakers in the first place only fuels the fear and suspicion that has already been stirred by the list.

For months, conservatives in the House have been trying to challenge at least ten government research grants already awarded to scientists by the National Institutes of Health. On Oct. 2 of this year, Representative Michael Ferguson, a Republican from New Jersey, asked the NIH to provide information on the "public benefit" of these ten research projects. Somehow, a staff member on the government committee looking into the ten research grants came back with this list of 157 scientists.

A spokesman told PlanteOut.com that the government committee got the list of scientists from the Family Values Coalition, a rabidly anti-gay group that has long crusaded against gay rights and people with HIV and AIDS. Is a right-wing conservative religious group now vetting government grants on scientific research?

The NIH has said it has contacted some scientists to get information on their research simply as a precaution, in order to defend funding the research should the grants come under attack from some Congressmen. That alone is scary. It seems clear that House conservatives are trying to challenge already-approved research funds simply because they are politically opposed to what the research might turn up. It is just the first, dangerous step toward the government dictating what research gets done and what does not. Virtually all universities and research centers, where the vast majority of science in America is conducted, depend on government grants to do their work.

Ferguson, the New Jersey Republican, has dismissed the entire incident as a "mix up." He denies that he and other House conservatives are trying to intimidate or quash scientific research they disagree with.

But then why have this list? Even if it is not a "hit list," as some researchers fear, the very existence of the list could be enough to make grant-dependent scientists practice the worst kind of censorship: the self-inflicted kind. If researchers fear their work will not be funded, they may turn to writing "safer" proposals - those that don't deal as explicitly and boldly with controversial issues - in order to get money to do their research. Surely, Ferguson and his cohorts in the House know this.

Furthermore, this incident is not an isolated case. Since the Bush administration took over, their has been a pervading sense that scientists who want to get money for their research projects should play down gay and other controversial aspects of their work. Indeed, not long ago there was a brouhaha over allegations that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was quietly advising researchers to tone down anything in their work that might be directly related to the gay community, if they wanted a better chance of winning grants.

Politicians should not be reviewing scientific research grants. There is already in place an extensive review process, where scientists evaluate proposals based on scientific merit, research study design, and need. We cannot and should not get into the dangerous position of letting politically charged crusaders engage in what amounts to little more than scientific McCarthyism.

031030
BY031001

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