Dear friend,

These are extraordinary times, so rather than our newsletter, I write to you to summarize the many things Hastings has been doing to prepare our society for the ethical issues and tragic choices we now face:

• Hastings mobilized to develop an ethics framework, cited by The New York Times, for health care institutions to help them navigate this outbreak. We distributed to hospitals and professional associations.  The response has been enormous, with tens of thousands of people flocking to our website to access this guidance since its release.
   
• This past weekend, working with Hastings Fellow Lawrence Gostin, we gathered over 1400 signatures on a petition demanding the federal government respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as a matter of moral imperative.  The next day, Administration officials said they would act on the authorities they had in the Defense Production Act, but subsequently, it appears they are still not doing so. We continue to monitor their actions and demand the production of the medical supplies our hospitals need so desperately.
   
• Our COVID-19 ethics resource center, with insightful essays by leaders around the world on the ethical challenges posed by this crisis, and other valuable information, has been read by thousands more.
   
• And Hastings scholars have been interviewed and delivered guidance on the crisis on NPR, Politico, USA Today, and Scientific American, and other major news outlets.
   
• We are doing this even as a member of our own team has tested positive for the virus, and we are all self-isolating to stop the spread of COVID-19.

We are developing more resources and will continue to work full out to address this crisis.

Be well,
 
Millie Solomon
President
The Hastings Center