The drug, which had no effect on a white control group, but reduced heart failure deaths by 43 percent for an African-American control group, was approved by the F.D.A. as a drug for African-Americans yesterday. The New York Times reports that there was some controversy, but it appeared to be mostly between those who cared more about the lives and health of African-Americans and those who cared more about preserving "the greater untruth" that genes don't differ with ancestry:

"BiDil was endorsed last week by an F.D.A. advisory panel of outside experts. But controversy surrounded the discussions . . . critics said that endorsing a drug for one race gave official government imprimatur to the discredited notion of race as a biological category.

Several influential black political and scientific groups embraced BiDil, however, as a way to redress years of inequality in medical treatment and outcomes."