Category Archives: Our News & Commentary Blog

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W. Carol Cleigh letter: Hasty Re-Opening Will “Sacrifice the Weak for the Wealthy”

COVID-19, eugenics, letters to the editor, lifeboat ethics, Our News & Commentary Blog, ,

NDY member Carol Cleigh’s timely and pointed letter below will appear in her local North Carolina paper, Clay County Progress: For those who are advocating for lifting of restrictions due to Covid-19 before or without considering the WHO criteria for safely lifting those restrictions, please understand that you’re asking for a devil’s bargain. What you, … Continue reading W. Carol Cleigh letter: Hasty Re-Opening Will “Sacrifice the Weak for the Wealthy” →

John Kelly: Testimony to Boston City Council Opposing Triage Based On 5-Year Survival Predictions

ageism, bioethics, COVID-19, health disparities, healthcare rationing, john kelly, lifeboat ethics, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, Second Thoughts, Testimony, , , ,

The following is expanded from remarks prepared for oral testimony at the April 22 hearing. I am adding information from the hearing testimony of the Massachusetts Coalition on Health Equity. Additional information is drawn from the Bay State Banner article on the hearing. A hearing on the proposed guidelines for ventilator distribution and ICU beds … Continue reading John Kelly: Testimony to Boston City Council Opposing Triage Based On 5-Year Survival Predictions →

Lisa Blumberg – Medical Rationing: When Disability Bias Hides Behind A Magical “Invisibility” Cloak

bioethics, COVID-19, futility, health disparities, healthcare rationing, life-sustaining treatment, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment, , ,

Among the rationing plans being discussed to respond to the strain the surge in coronavirus cases is expected to place on the capabilities of hospitals in some cases, the Pittsburgh Model Plan Regarding the Allocation of Scarce Critical Care Resources during a Public Health Emergency (1) is being given the most play. The Plan would … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg – Medical Rationing: When Disability Bias Hides Behind A Magical “Invisibility” Cloak →

NDY’s 24th Anniversary: Never Has the Fight For Our Lives Been More Urgent

better dead than disabled, bioethics, Bob Kafka, COVID-19, healthcare rationing, john callahan, lifeboat ethics, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, ,

On this day, April 27, 24 years ago, I was at a national disability rights conference in Dallas. ADAPT organizer Bob Kafka called out to me and said, “I’ve got a name for your group,” a group that increasingly seemed to be needed to combat the growing public sentiment that disabled people are better off … Continue reading NDY’s 24th Anniversary: Never Has the Fight For Our Lives Been More Urgent →

Anita Cameron: Racial Disparities in the Age of COVID-19

access to health care, Anita Cameron, discrimination, health disparities, healthcare rationing, medical bigotry, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, racism, , ,

Racial disparities in healthcare have always existed but it’s only been recently that it has been openly discussed as a serious issue in this country. Blacks and communities of color have always known about it because we experience it ourselves, first-hand. Studies show that we receive inferior healthcare compared to Whites. Little by little, the … Continue reading Anita Cameron: Racial Disparities in the Age of COVID-19 →