Troubling new details emerge on diabetes ouster controversy

关于糖尿病协会驱逐事件，更多令人不安的细节浮出水面

Last month, we reported on a troubling incident at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in New Orleans. On June 5, five leading scientists were ousted for handing out copies of an editorial, published in the journal Diabetes Care (an ADA journal) in April, sharply criticizing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on scientific research. There was a public outcry and (eventually) a personal apology from the ADA’s CEO for the heavy-handed response, but it seems the organization has not yet learned its lesson.

上个月，我们报道了美国糖尿病协会（ADA）在新奥尔良举行的年会上发生的一起令人不安的事件。6月5日，五位顶尖科学家因分发一篇社论而被驱逐。该社论于4月发表在ADA旗下的《糖尿病护理》（Diabetes Care）杂志上，严厉批评了特朗普政府对科学研究持续不断的攻击。此事引发了公众的强烈抗议，ADA首席执行官最终也为这种强硬的应对方式进行了个人道歉，但该组织似乎并未吸取教训。

The deputy editors of Diabetes Care have posted an editorial and seven accompanying opinion articles to a preprint server—handily contained in a single PDF file—that they say the ADA has refused to publish. Several troubling new details are included in the articles, including an accusation that ADA leadership knew in advance that members would be handing out copies of the editorial and deliberately set up an ambush by venue security and local police. That decision, in turn, might be due to a simmering tension connected to a session organized the year before.

《糖尿病护理》的副主编们已将一篇社论及七篇配套的评论文章发布在预印本服务器上（整合在一个方便阅读的PDF文件中），他们表示ADA拒绝发表这些内容。文章中包含了一些令人不安的新细节，其中包括一项指控：ADA领导层事先知道成员们会分发该社论，并蓄意安排了会场安保人员和当地警察进行“伏击”。这一决定可能源于前一年组织的一次会议所引发的积怨。

ADA leadership was provided with the articles in advance of publication with an invitation to simultaneously publish their response. “The ADA’s response was to refuse to publish these articles,” the deputy editors wrote. “We are speaking out because it is unusual and unacceptable for a medical society to work at cross purposes with its members and its editors. The ADA has already tried to restrict editorial freedom once before related to our raising awareness of what is happening in Washington, DC, and, in particular, with the dismantling of the National Institutes of Health. … A wrong occurred in New Orleans that the ADA has not addressed. There remain open questions surrounding the events of June 5th. It is because we wish to heal and come together following this difficult situation that we believe it is important that these articles be read and these voices heard.”

在文章发表前，ADA领导层已收到这些稿件，并受邀同时发表回应。副主编们写道：“ADA的回应是拒绝发表这些文章。我们之所以发声，是因为一个医学协会与其成员和编辑背道而驰，这是极不寻常且不可接受的。ADA此前曾试图限制编辑自由，原因是我们提高了人们对华盛顿特区正在发生的事情的关注，特别是关于拆解美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）的问题……新奥尔良发生了一件ADA尚未解决的错事。围绕6月5日的事件，仍有许多悬而未决的问题。正是因为我们希望在这一困难局面后实现愈合与团结，我们才认为让这些文章被阅读、让这些声音被听见至关重要。”

It’s a complicated story, so it’s worth recapping what’s occurred so far, followed by the most relevant details from the newly published articles.

这是一个复杂的故事，因此有必要回顾一下目前为止发生的事情，随后再介绍新发表文章中最相关的细节。

The New Orleans Five controversy

“新奥尔良五人组”争议

The five ousted scientists included Steven Kahn, professor of medicine at the University of Washington, who is the editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care and a co-author of the editorial. It also included former ADA President Desmond Schatz of the University of Florida, Aaron Kelly, pediatrics professor at the University of Minnesota; Justin Ryder of Northwestern University; Irl Hirsch, also of the University of Washington; and Maureen Gannon of Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

被驱逐的五位科学家包括华盛顿大学医学教授、同时也是《糖尿病护理》主编及该社论合著者之一的Steven Kahn。其他成员还包括佛罗里达大学的前ADA主席Desmond Schatz、明尼苏达大学儿科教授Aaron Kelly、西北大学的Justin Ryder、同样来自华盛顿大学的Irl Hirsch，以及范德比尔特大学医学中心的Maureen Gannon。

The scientists were distributing the editorial outside the conference’s opening speech, which was originally scheduled to be given by Jay Bhattacharya, head of the National Institutes of Health under Trump. Bhattacharya canceled at the last minute, and senior NIH official Rick Woychik took his place. Within minutes of handing out the editorial, police reportedly escorted the scientists out of the conference in New Orleans. The police reportedly shoved at least one scientist, took all of their conference badges, and threatened to arrest them if they tried to return. Louisiana State Police later told media that they acted at the request of the ADA.

这些科学家在会议开幕演讲外分发社论，该演讲原定由特朗普时期的美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）负责人Jay Bhattacharya发表。Bhattacharya在最后一刻取消了行程，由NIH高级官员Rick Woychik代为出席。据报道，在分发社论几分钟后，警察就将这些科学家带离了新奥尔良的会场。据称，警察推搡了至少一名科学家，没收了他们所有的会议证件，并威胁称如果他们试图返回，将逮捕他们。路易斯安那州警方后来告诉媒体，他们是应ADA的要求采取行动的。

The ADA subsequently barred the five scientists from the rest of the conference. Kahn had been slated to chair a symposium. John Buse of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill took his place, explaining the situation to attendees in remarks critical of the ADA’s actions. “The applause was deafening, not for the speech, but for Steven and standing up for science,” Buse wrote in his preprint article, which included a draft of those remarks.

随后，ADA禁止这五位科学家参加余下的会议。Kahn原定主持一场研讨会，北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校医学院的John Buse接替了他的位置，并在发言中批评了ADA的行为，向与会者解释了情况。Buse在他的预印本文章中写道（其中包含了那次发言的草稿）：“掌声震耳欲聋，不是为了演讲本身，而是为了Steven以及对科学的捍卫。”

Backlash to the ADA’s actions spread rapidly on Twitter/X and BlueSky and sharply increased the number of page views for the April editorial. Several ADA leaders have resigned, and a fiery letter signed by more than 40 ADA officials blasted the decision as “outrageous” and the justifications as “unpersuasive” and “fatuous nonsense,” stating that the community was “overwhelmingly repulsed by the way this unfortunate event has occurred and been excused and justified by the Association leadership.” The officials demanded “an immediate and unconditional public apology,” as well as a review of the incident. An open letter to the ADA, titled “Shame on You,” similarly called for an apology. It has gathered over 7,500 signatures at the time of this publication.

对ADA行为的强烈抵制在Twitter/X和BlueSky上迅速蔓延，并使那篇四月社论的浏览量大幅增加。几位ADA领导人已经辞职，一封由40多名ADA官员签署的措辞激烈的信件抨击该决定“令人愤慨”，称其辩解“毫无说服力”且是“愚蠢的废话”，并表示整个群体“对这一不幸事件的发生方式，以及协会领导层对此进行的开脱和辩解感到极度反感”。官员们要求“立即且无条件地公开道歉”，并对该事件进行审查。一封致ADA的公开信题为《为你感到羞耻》（Shame on You），同样呼吁道歉。截至本文发表时，该信已收集了超过7500个签名。

At first, the ADA tried to justify its decision. A media team initially told MedPage Today that the five scientists had violated the conference code of conduct. In an email to ADA members that Saturday, the association said the scientists were removed because they didn’t have prior approval to distribute material at the conference and that it was “not because of the viewpoints expressed in those materials,” according to reporting from Science. In a statement Sunday, the organization, which is a nonprofit, said it removed the scientists because it was complying with federal regulations for 501(c)(3) nonprofits, which require “maintaining a strictly nonpartisan environment at all organizational events and functions while engaging across party affiliations to advance our mission.”

起初，ADA试图为其决定辩护。媒体团队最初告诉《MedPage Today》，这五位科学家违反了会议行为准则。据《科学》杂志报道，该协会在那个周六发给ADA成员的电子邮件中称，驱逐这些科学家是因为他们未获得事先批准就在会上分发材料，且“并非因为这些材料中表达的观点”。在周日的一份声明中，该非营利组织表示，驱逐科学家是为了遵守501(c)(3)非营利组织的联邦法规，该法规要求“在所有组织活动和职能中保持严格的无党派环境，同时跨党派参与以推进我们的使命”。

However, the federal regulations do not restrict leaders of organizations from sharing political views in a personal capacity or from speaking on important public policy issues. After several days of controversy and much negative media coverage, ADA CEO Charles Henderson posted a video statement apologizing for the organization’s decision. “What transpired is not reflective of who I am, the values I hold, or the way I was raised,” Henderson said. “I will work hard to bring our community back together to build on the progress…”

然而，联邦法规并不限制组织领导人以个人身份分享政治观点，也不限制他们就重要的公共政策问题发表意见。在经历了数日的争议和大量负面媒体报道后，ADA首席执行官Charles Henderson发布了一段视频声明，为该组织的决定道歉。“所发生的一切并不能反映我是谁、我所持有的价值观，或者我的成长方式，”Henderson说。“我将努力让我们的社区重新团结起来，在已取得的进展基础上……”