Q143Comprehension2 Marks24 Dec 2023
Passage
Given below is a write-up from The Guardian decrying the inequalities in maternal healthcare for women of colour. Go through the paragraph and answer the given subquestions that follow:
Institutional racism is (1) __________ visible in healthcare. A recent example comes from a report published by the Women and Equalities Committee, which finds that black women are almost four times more likely to die as a result of childbirth than white women. MPs behind the report have rightly denounced the government’s failure to address this gulf. The statistic is not news. Racial inequalities in maternal healthcare have been (2) __________ for at least two decades. Serena Williams recently drew attention to this phenomenon in the US when writing about the birth of her daughter. The tennis player, who was at risk of blood clots, was told when requesting a scan that medicine was making her 'talk crazy'. Once the scan was granted, it revealed what Ms. Williams had suspected. The clots had returned. The resistance she faced is not uncommon. Research from the US shows how racist assumptions that black patients can endure more pain have resulted in doctors being less likely to grant them adequate treatment. In Britain, black women report being denied pain relief, feeling unsafe and seeing their concerns ignored by midwives and doctors. When politicians and parts of the media promote the idea that racism is a matter of bad apples rather than (3) __________ failures, it should be no surprise that the role of systemic racism in health is ignored. Many of the problems faced by women of colour in maternity wards are rooted in unconscious biases. Midwives still use the Apgar score, a 1952 tool that checks the health of new-borns by the colour of their skin. Textbooks and equipment are still based around white bodies; pulse oximeters are prone to inaccurate readings when gauging the oxygen levels of people with darker skin. Ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in clinical trials. The NHS (National Health Service) founded the Independent Race and Health Observatory in 2021, and local maternity services have made progress on adopting equality plans; but leadership from the top is needed to adequately address and rectify the issue. So long as politicians trivialise systemic racism and pretend that the journey towards equality is complete, the causes of these health disparities will go undiagnosed.
"A recent example comes from a report published by the Women and Equalities Committee, which finds that black women are almost four times more likely to die as a result of childbirth than white women." The given statement is significant to the argument that the essay makes because: