Sequestering science
A law review publishes papers on what happens when science data are withheld from the public and policy makers.
Because science is built on the sharing of information, decisions to sequester data can hinder scientific advances and jeopardize public health, concludes the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP). Established by a court order related to lawsuits on silicone breast implants, SKAPP is a nonprofit research group that promotes transparent decision making based on the best available science.
The U.S. government and corporations often seek to conceal scientific knowledge from the public, either to preserve national security or to protect business practices or individual confidentiality. But these practices have costs, SKAPP argues. In several papers published in the summer 2006 issue of the Duke University School of Law journal Law and Contemporary Problems, well-known scholars explore sequestered science related to pharmaceuticals and environmental health and safety.
Some of the papers offer solutions to reduce the adverse consequences of hidden science, including altering court settlement practices, creating clinical-trial registries, and adopting new legislation. The papers are drawn from the Coronado Conferences on Scientific Evidence and Public Policy, where scientists, lawyers and judges, policy makers, and philosophers discussed the use and misuse of scientific evidence in public policy.
