A Boston hospital has announced its plans to adjust its policy that mandates law enforcement be informed of babies born with drugs in their systems, citing so-called “structural racism” that allegedly impacts the high number of Black women who take drugs while pregnant.
Mass General Brigham made the decision after finding that Black mothers are reported for child neglect at higher rates than women of other races. Labeling this “structural racism,” the hospital has declared it will “update policies” mandating immediate reporting to authorities in such cases.
UNREAL. The Mass General Brigham Hospital system will no longer report babies who are born with d*rugs in their system to child welfare because it "disproportionately affects Black people."
Reporting child neglect is now racist. pic.twitter.com/JWUG1f50mW
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 3, 2024
The healthcare system is reportedly planning to adjust standard procedures that “automatically trigger mandatory filings with child welfare agencies” when pregnant women are undergoing treatment for a “substance use disorder.” The new system would not immediately report these women without “other concerns” that could point to mistreatment or neglect of their children.
“Health equity leaders note that these policies create undue risk that pregnant people [sic] might be separated from their newborn infants and discourage them from accessing treatment,” the announcement states. It also claimed that current policies which require reports of pregnant women taking drugs “disproportionately impact patients from historically marginalized populations.”
The call for updated protocol would serve as part of the hospital’s ongoing efforts to mitigate so-called “structural racism” from the system. Specifically, the adjusted policies seek to rectify the “punitive approaches” allegedly used “disproportionately” against Black women.
The medical director of the hospital’s Substance Use Disorder program, Dr. Sarah Wakeman, further stated that the updated policy will imitate the “emerging consensus” that is “being embraced” by other healthcare systems that have adopted similar protocols.
Mass General Brigham’s chief health equity officer, Dr. Allison Bryant, specified that the new policy only requires reports in cases where there is “reasonable cause” indicating a child is at risk being cared for by his or her mother who is struggling with substance use.
The hospital has a history of embracing left-wing racial talking points, primarily through its “United Against Racism” program that was launched in October 2020, months after the Black Lives Matter movement was revamped amid the death of George Floyd.
In 2022, the program released a promotional video boasting its efforts to “dismantle racism,” which included the expansion of screening protocols and the installment of mobile units capable of going into minority communities.
