Studnicki v. Sage Publications
Description: Academic publisher Sage Publications retracted three articles written by 10 nationally recognized and credentialed scientists and removed one of the authors from the editorial board of an academic journal. Two of the retracted articles were about the dangers of chemical abortion drugs.
ADF, Consovoy McCarthy sue academic publisher for improper retraction of articles about dangers of abortion drugs
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 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 took action against these highly respected and credentialed scientists because they believe in preserving life from conception to natural death. Sage's retractions 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.”
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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ABOUT Philip A. Sechler
Philip A. Sechler serves as senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, where he focuses on academic and religious freedom. Before joining ADF, Sechler had a long career in private practice, with substantial first-chair trial experience in courts around the country on a variety of complex litigation matters. He was also a Distinguished Visitor from Practice at Penn State Law School, where he spent four years teaching. He also taught at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University and at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he continues to teach a course on Professional Responsibility. Sechler received his bachelor’s degree with high distinction from Pennsylvania State University, and he earned his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated summa cum laude and was Editor-in-Chief of The Georgetown Law Journal. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Sechler is admitted to practice before the District of Columbia and Virginia bars, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal appellate and trial courts.