Darwinists Impose Gag Rule on Science
Try to Thwart Intellectual Freedom
By: Staff
Discovery Institute
September 8, 2004
SEATTLE, SEP. 8 – Amidst controversy over a peer-reviewed scientific article arguing for the intelligent design of life, the biological society responsible for the journal in which the article appeared has imposed a gag rule to avoid publication of future articles with the same perspective. The society attempted to justify its action by citing a 1999 policy statement from the AAAS asserting that the theory of intelligent design is not a scientific theory.
“Instead of addressing the paper’s arguments or inviting counterarguments or rebuttal, the society has resorted to affirming what amounts to a doctrinal statement in an effort to stifle scientific debate,” said Dr. John West, associate director. “They’re trying to stop scientific discussion before it even starts.”
In its statement released Tuesday, The Biological Society of Washington made clear that articles discussing evidence of intelligent design “will not be addressed in future issues of the Proceedings,” even if an article on the matter passes peer review. The peer-reviewed article that has generated the controversy, “The Origin of Biological Information and the Higher Taxonomic Categories,” was written by Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture Director Dr. Stephen Meyer. In it, Meyer argues that the theory of intelligent design explains the origin of the genetic information in early animal forms better than current materialistic theories of evolution.
In recent news coverage of the controversy in The Scientist, Richard Sternberg, editor of The Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, confirmed that Meyer’s article went through the normal peer-review process, and that the three peer reviewers "all hold faculty positions in biological disciplines at prominent universities and research institutions.”
“This action restricts intellectual freedom,” said Rob Crowther, the CSC’s Director of Communications. “It says that the journal shouldn’t allow its editors or its peer reviewers to even consider a scientific article that discusses evidence of design in nature. That’s dogma, not science.”
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