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When Is Age Choosing Ageist Discrimination?

Authors :
Brown, Teneille R.
Francis, Leslie P.
Tabery, James
Source :
Hastings Center Report. Jan2021, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p13-15. 3p.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

When the Covid‐19 pandemic reached the United States in spring 2020, many states and hospitals announced crisis standards of care plans that used age as a categorical exclusion criterion. Such age choosing was quickly flagged as discriminatory, and so some states and hospitals shifted to embedding age as a tiebreaker deeper in their plans. Different rationales were given for using age as a tiebreaker: that younger patients were more likely to survive than older patients, that saving younger patients would save more life years, and that younger patients deserved a chance to live through life's stages. We provide a critical analysis of these three rationales, noting the differences between them, and then questioning the ethical and legal justifications for such age choosing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00930334
Volume :
51
Issue :
1
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Hastings Center Report
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
148999079
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1205