PROJECT ON FAIR REPRESENTATION WARNS NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ABOUT RACIALLY DISCRIMINATORY PRIORITIZATION OF COVID-19 TREATMENTS

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Late yesterday, the Project on Fair Representation sent a letter to New York Department of Health Acting Commissioner Mary T. Basset warning the Department about serious legal problems in the Department's new racially discriminatory guidance on the prioritization of COVID-19 treatments.

The letter notes that the Department's policy already has resulted in a lawsuit and warns the State will surely be sued again if it continues to prioritize treatments for certain racial and ethnic groups over others.

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Specifically, the letter notes that, according to the Department's December 29th guidance, "Non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systemic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19."

Edward Blum, president of the Project on Fair Representation said, "if permitted to continue, this policy will lead to needless loss of life and will illegally perpetuate immoral racial categories."

Michael Buschbacher, an attorney at Boyden Gray & Associates said, "New York's racially discriminatory treatment plan reads like something from the pages of a 1920s racialist newsletter claiming that 'whites' are somehow inherently more resistant to disease than members of other races. This pseudo-scientific claptrap is wrong and immoral. The shortage of COVID-19 therapeutics is bad enough—New Yorkers of all races deserve better than having these lifesaving treatments rationed based on the color of their skin."

Contact: Edward Blum
703-505-1922
[email protected]

SOURCE The Project on Fair Representation