WASHINGTON, D.C.—National Right to Life has praised President Trump and his administration for the Civil Rights Bulletin issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which provides guidance on ensuring equal protection to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We thank President Trump and FEMA Administrator Phil Gaynor for efforts to protect the most vulnerable in our society,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “The guidelines from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency will help ensure that regardless of ability or disability, age, origin or chronic health issues, patients are treated equally.”
FEMA’s guidelines follow those released by the Office of Civil Rights in response to news reports of proposed rationing guidelines.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the guidelines to “state, local, tribal, and territorial partners” stating that entities should:
Make medical treatment decisions, including denials of care under Crisis Standards of Care and allocation of ventilators, after an individualized consideration of each person, free from stereotypes and biases, including generalizations and judgments
about the individual’s quality of life or relative value to society, based on the individual’s disability, age, race, income level, or any protected basis. This individualized consideration should be based on current objective medical evidence and the expressed views of the patients themselves as opposed to unfounded assumptions.
“Our health care system is designed to save lives,” Tobias continued. “No one facing the serious health issues from a coronavirus diagnosis should worry about whether they will receive the care they need because of
their age or disability.”
News sources have reported on the rationing of care in other countries, whether it could happen here in the United States and how some hospitals and locales are considering
it:
