ADF, Consovoy McCarthy sue academic publisher for politically motivated retractions

VENTURA, Calif. – On behalf of 10 nationally recognized and credentialed scientists, attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom and Consovoy McCarthy PLLC filed a petition to compel arbitration Thursday with the Superior Court of California, Ventura County. The attorneys are asking the court to enforce Sage Publications’ contractual obligation to arbitrate the scientists’ claims against Sage after the academic publisher retracted—without justification—three of their articles and then removed one of the authors from the editorial board of an academic journal. Two of the retracted articles were about the dangers of abortion drugs.

In 2019, 2021, and 2022, Sage published research in one of its medical journals, Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology, written by 10 authors. Dr. James Studnicki served as lead author of the articles and as a member of the journal’s editorial board. After a federal court cited one of the articles in a ruling challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its reckless removal of safety standards for abortion drugs, a pro-abortion advocate complained to Sage, which subsequently retracted the three articles and removed Studnicki from his position on the editorial board. The attorneys representing Studnicki and the other researchers explain in the petition that Sage has violated its contract by delaying arbitration in the case, Studnicki v. Sage Publications.

“Politics should never sway science, especially when that science is vital for saving and protecting lives,” said ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler. “Sage punished these highly respected and credentialed scientists simply because they believe in preserving life from conception to natural death. These actions have caused irreparable harm to the authors of these articles, and we are urging Sage to come to the arbitration table—as it is legally bound to do—rescind the retractions and remedy the reputational damage the researchers have suffered at the hands of abortion lobbyists.”

In the petition to compel arbitration, the attorneys note that the three articles underwent a rigorous review process, including a double-blind peer review. All three articles were accepted for publication, and the medical journal’s editor-in-chief particularly praised the 2021 and 2022 articles as a “fine contribution” to the journal.

However, after the articles were cited in a federal case related to the dangers of abortion drugs, a professor at South University anonymously filed a complaint that the researchers were affiliated with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Elliot Institute—all of which was disclosed during the review process of the articles. Sage officially retracted the articles on February 5, using inflammatory language by saying the articles were “misleading” and “demonstrate[d] a lack of scientific rigor.” Sage even called its own peer review process “compromised.”

“[T]he Authors have had new research proposals inexplicably turned away by other journals that now fear associating with them,” the petition explains. “The Authors have years—even decades—of fruitful research ahead of them, but they are now being treated as pariahs.”

• Pronunciation guide: Sechler (SECK’-lur)

The ADF Center for Academic Freedom is dedicated to protecting First Amendment and related freedoms for students and faculty so that everyone can freely participate in the marketplace of ideas without fear of government censorship.

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