FrumCA

A hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announced that in order to not perpetuate "structural racism" it would avoid reporting potential instances of child abuse and neglect to the authorities in cases of positive illicit drug tests if the mother is black. The reason, according to Mass General Brigham (MGB), is that "black pregnant people are more likely to be drug tested and to be reported to child welfare systems than white pregnant people." The nonprofit healthcare system added, "As a part of our United Against Racism effort to achieve health equity for patients and communities across our system, we ... are addressing policies that may unwittingly perpetuate structural racism." So, according to MGB, it's racist to hold black mothers accountable for illicit drug use that may be harming their children because a higher percentage of black mothers are drug users. Evidently, concern over the welfare of the child is secondary when it comes to upholding the woke ideology of "diversity, equity, and inclusion." The irony here is that the hospital's old policy was absolutely devoid of any racial considerations. The new policy is to file with child welfare agencies only "if there is reasonable cause to believe that the infant is suffering or at imminent risk of suffering physical or emotional injury and that 'substance exposure' alone, including treatment with methadone or buprenorphine for opioid use disorder, does not require a report of abuse or neglect in the absence of protective concerns for the infant." In other words, now the race of the mother will be a deciding factor in whether the hospital elects to contact the authorities.