Two bipartisan senators wrote a letter Wednesday expressing concern about the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) proposal to remove the pledge to “extend life” from its mission statement. .
in letter NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnoli, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.) have announced that the public should remove the stated goal of extending lifespan from the NIH's mission statement. He said he was concerned that this would have a negative impact on the attitude of the public. Beyond the quality of life for people with disabilities.
The senators noted the “increasing openness” in some countries and states to physician-assisted suicide and “removed the life-extension goals set out in the NIH mission statement without explanation or justification. We are concerned that doing so may have a negative impact on people's survival.” Attitudes towards the quality of life of people with disabilities. ”
Last August, the NIH released The proposed updated mission statement removed the goal of “extending life” and also removed the term “disability.” All responses to the proposal were requested to be submitted by November 24, 2023.
The current mission of the NIH is “to pursue fundamental knowledge of the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to improve health, extend lifespan, and reduce disease and disability.”
Under the proposal, this would change to “the pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to optimize health and prevent or reduce disease for all people.” .
According to the proposal, a committee established by the NIH said the statement “could be interpreted as perpetuating the ableist belief that people with disabilities are flawed and in need of correction.” It recommended that the phrase “alleviating disabilities'' be deleted.
The senators praised the NIH for recognizing “disparities” in medical research and delivery to people with disabilities, but asked Bertagnoli to remove language that said the NIH “extends life.” They pointed out that they are asking for a detailed explanation of their motives and whether they sought opinions from outside groups. decision.
The senators' letter, dated Wednesday, also asked how removing the phrase “extend life” would affect NIH research activities and funding decisions.
Rubio and Duckworth argued that people with disabilities should be treated with “the same dignity and respect” as non-disabled people, but stereotypes prevent them from getting the care they need.senators mentioned 2022 survey It found that more than 80% of U.S. physicians report that people with “severe disabilities” have a lower quality of life than those without disabilities.
“Evidence suggests that this may lead to discrimination in how physician-assisted suicide is recommended,” the senators' letter said. “At a time when such pervasive and harmful views influence so many Americans, it is imperative that we clarify the mission of America's largest funder of biomedical research.”
The NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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