Philadelphia, PA- September 17, 2020- The Catholic Medical Association is concerned and disappointed to learn of YouTube’s action to censor recent comments on COVID-19 made by a well respected medical expert, who serves as an advisor on The White House Coronavirus Task Force.
“The decision to ban comments made by Dr. Scott Atlas is extremely dangerous and undermines the integrity of medicine, as medicine and science are often unsettled and evolve as new scientific information and evidence becomes available. Censoring the comments of medical experts hinders the advancement of medicine and has a detrimental impact on the well being of individuals,” said CMA President, Dr. Michael Parker.
The tech company’s action to censor Dr. Atlas was reported by The Wall Street Journal, and numerous other media outlets.
“There is a need for open discourse and the consideration of all possible interventions as it relates to COVID-19 or any dilemma which poses serious health risks. Removing videos based on political motivations threatens our progress in the fight against this virus, and as a free society,” added Dr. Parker.
Dr. Atlas’ comments regarding COVID-19 questioned mitigation techniques used to help curb the spread of the virus, based on statistical data.
While experts at the CMA have supported CDC recommended safety measures (CMA Coronavirus Resource Page), we believe censoring Dr. Atlas, or any expert is dangerous and cannot be tolerated.
“As Catholic physicians, we care about the dignity and health of every person, and we never allow politics to get in the way,” said Dr. Parker.
