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DISABILITIES

By Daniel J. Vance

Dave Reynolds is the editor of Inclusion Daily Express, a daily disability rights news service that gathers and disseminates disability-related news for interested people around the globe. He covered both sides of the Terri Schiavo controversy.

He said recently over the telephone, "There were 26 disability organizations that signed on in support of Terri's parents. Most of them were national or international organizations." Included on the list were the National Down Syndrome Congress, National Coalition for Disability Rights, National Disabled Students Union, National Spinal Cord Injury Association and the World Institute on Disability.

Reynolds didn't know of any disability-related organizations supporting Michael Schiavo. However, he did know of some individuals with disabilities speaking out in Michael's favor.

He said that groups supporting Terri Schiavo's parents had three basic points: 1) people with disabilities should have total control over their own lives 2) judges are devaluing the perceived worth of a disabled person's life 3) and doctors can't be fully trusted to accurately evaluate a disabled person's physical condition.

"These (disability-related) groups are concerned about people making (life and death) decisions for someone with a disability," he said. "And I have heard people refer to 'lives not worth living.' This kind of talk scares many people in the disability rights community."

Disability groups have long memories. For instance, in 1927 the U.S. Supreme Court in Buck v. Bell ruled in favor of forced sterilization of people with mental retardation. The practice continued until 1979, involving 65,000 Americans. Said Justice Holmes, "It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind." Buck v. Bell has never been overturned.

Besides fearing courts, Reynolds said, "Many people with severe disabilities were once told by doctors that they wouldn't live. Yet they now have productive and enjoyable lives."

Reynolds told the story of a Washington state man in his 80s who doctors had "written off" at birth. A doctor and nurse advised his parents to either take 'it' to an institution or to not feed 'it.' The baby had physical and intellectual disabilities. As an adult, this man worked on a farm and ultimately lived alone. "He outlived the doctor and nurse," said Reynolds. "He got the last laugh on that one."

For more, see www.danieljvance.com or www.inclusiondaily.com