A sure-fire way for a scholar or policy-wonk to get lots of attention these days is to advance some new “solution” to the country’s deep problem of institutional racism. Medical care is now in the cross-hairs, with arguments that we must get past the old-fashioned idea that medical professionals are to serve each individual to the utmost and instead embrace group “equity” as the proper goal.
In his latest Bastiat’s Window post, Bob Graboyes looks into this horrendous notion.
He writes:
In 2021, the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges issued a 54-page speech code — Advancing Health Equity. This document is permeated by an assumption that all racial disparities in health are caused by racism as opposed to, say, genetics or individual behavior. The document focuses repeatedly on the impact of ‘whiteness’ on healthcare in America and beseeches doctors to engage in heavily politicized and often accusatory speech.
The concept that America needs “equity” in medical care is even worse than the idea of “equity” in, say, college admissions. But how do we stop this runaway train?