Tag: Disability rights movement

The ADA Is Turning 35—And It’s in Trump’s Crosshairs + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The ADA Is Turning 35—And It’s in Trump’s Crosshairs

Since the bill was signed into law, disabled Americans have benefited from a much wider array of protections in the workforce, in education, and in the ability to access public places and private spaces open to the public, such as stores and restaurants. But in a world where disability rights victories, and disabled people themselves, are being attacked by anti-DEI activists who have President Donald Trump’s ear, disability civil rights feel a little more fragile. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, another essential and wide-ranging item of civil rights legislation, is also in peril, most notably through a lawsuit filed by 17 Republican state attorneys general and led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as my colleague Sarah Szilagy reported in October.

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Project 2025: Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Experts warn the proposed SAVE Act could make it harder for some married women to vote. Here’s who could be affected. – CBS

A 2023 Pew Research survey found that about 80% of women married to men in the U.S. take their husband’s last name. Under the SAVE Act, if their voter registration name differs from the name on their birth certificate or passport, they may need to show additional documents.

If the SAVE Act were to become law, Bedekovics said married women who have changed their names should obtain certified copies of all marriage certificates, locate their birth certificates, and keep any change-of-name documentation on hand for any updates to their voter registration.

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Donald Trump’s Next Diversity Target: People With Disabilities

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

President Trump’s suggestion last month that the tragic Potomac air crash was somehow the fault of disabled federal air traffic controllers was appalling—but it should have come as no surprise. Trump’s contempt for people with disabilities has been well documented, and it’s that animus, combined with the accelerating MAGA assault on diversity throughout the United States, that has disability rights advocates preparing to defend decades worth of hard-won protections.

One month into his presidency, Trump has unleashed a government-wide attack on people with disabilities, from anti-diversity executive orders to proposed special-education rollbacks to threats to slash programs like Medicaid that are lifelines for disabled people across the country. If successful, these actions could have catastrophic consequences for millions of Americans, according to disability rights experts.

Donald Trump’s Next Diversity Target: People With Disabilities

Related:

In the video below, Rep. Jahana Hayes mentions how Trump’s DEIA order is already affecting special education.

If Trump Dismantles the Dept. of Education, Who Will Pay the Biggest Price?

DEI (A?) – The Effect of Donald Trump’s DEI Executive Order on Accessibility

On President Trump’s first day in office, he immediately issued a new Executive Order declaring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) efforts “illegal.” With this new order in effect, previous mandates that implemented DEI efforts both in the federal government and among federal contractors were revoked.

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While the primary focus is on race- and sex-based affirmative action, the Order lumps together “DEI” and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (“DEIA”) efforts. So, disability inclusion efforts may now be under scrutiny as well.

UK: Will Labour legalise assisted dying?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As things stand, “assisted dying” is illegal in England and Wales under section two of the Suicide Act 1961 — but will this change under Keir Starmer’s government? Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords last week and has just been published.

Will Labour legalise assisted dying?

As if privatizing the NHS wasn’t enough, now they want to kill off the plebs!

Related:

The Nazis’ First Victims Were the Disabled

Disability groups legally challenge Canada’s euthanasia law

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

On September 26, 2024 a coalition of disability rights organizations and two personally affected individuals filed a Charter challenge with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The Court Challenge opposes Track 2 of Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law, which provides euthanasia to people with a disability who are not dying, or whose death is not “reasonably foreseeable.” 

Disability groups legally challenge Canada’s euthanasia law