Urging Governor Brown to Prevent Discrimination
On March 24, Disability Rights Oregon sent a letter to Governor Kate Brown urging her to take immediate action to protect Oregonians with disabilities from unlawful rationing of healthcare during COVID-19 public health response.
Press Release: Press Release: Letter to Governor Brown
Read the letter: Letter to Governor Brown Healthcare Rationing
During this emergency, we’re concerned that barriers that people with disabilities commonly confront could be heightened; specifically, that bias could influence life or death healthcare decisions about who gets treated and who doesn’t.
For people with disabilities, facing discrimination while seeking lifesaving care is nothing new. Before this pandemic, people with disabilities often fought ingrained attitudes about the inherent value of our lives to receive healthcare.
Every one of us deserves to be protected from this public health threat. Even in a crisis, healthcare providers may not abandon the principle of nondiscrimination.
As preparation to implement this plan unfolds, we must work together to ensure the plan and implementation of this plan do not inadvertently discriminate against people with disabilities in violation of federal and state disability rights laws.
