How to Apply the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act to Promote Health Equity in the US

• Published in: AMA journal of ethics Vol. 23; no. 3; p. E235
• Main Author: Schweikart, Scott J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2021
• ISSN: 2376-6980
• DOI: 10.1001/amajethics.2021.235

Health equity in the United States requires elimination of differentials in access to health services according to race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, comorbidity, or ability. To achieve health equity, governments can use a variety of tools, including civil rights legislation and constitutional jurisprudence. In the United States, 2 such examples are the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution's Equal Protection clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. While both have the capacity to reduce health disparities, in practice, neither has achieved its full potential because of how the judicial branch has interpreted and allowed these 2 laws to be enforced. How courts adjudicate health-related cases, especially those in which civil rights or other human rights legislation are at stake, is key to the successful promotion of legislative and jurisprudential approaches to motivating health equity and realizing justice for all.