New broad-based anti-discrimination language has been added to the AAP bylaws after 97.5% of voting members approved a bylaws amendment.
The referendum was initiated after a resolution to hold a vote was unanimously approved at this year’s Annual Leadership Forum (ALF).
Article I of the bylaws now will be amended to include the following:
Embracing equity for all children and families as well as for the pediatricians who care for them is central to the mission of theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics (“Academy” or “AAP”).The AAP is committed to achieving meaningful diversity and inclusion and to combat bias and discrimination in all its forms, including structural and systemic racism. The AAP does not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or national origin.
AAP President Sara “Sally” H. Goza, M.D., FAAP, introduced the resolution during the ALF, calling it "long overdue."
The resolution followed a related AAP policy statement Truth, Reconciliation, and Transformation: Continuing on the Path to Equity, which apologizes for racism endured by the first two Black members of the Academy. Released in late July, the policy expressed a commitment to embed opposition to discrimination into the bylaws of the Academy.
