Supporting medical science in the USA

The pursuit of rigorous medical science is not compatible with capitulation to government demands aimed at weaponising and eroding science. On April 14, Edwin R Martin Jr, the Trump-appointed interim US attorney for the District of Columbia, sent a letter to at least one medical journal, CHEST, saying “that more and more journals and publications like CHEST Journal are conceding that they are partisans in various scientific debates”. The letter asked the journal to respond to five questions on topics such as how it handles misinformation and different viewpoints. This is an obvious ruse to strike fear into journals and impinge on their right to independent editorial oversight. The Lancet stands with CHEST and the other medical journals that are being intimidated by the Trump administration.