Category: Disability Rights

Fast forward 68 years and the negative attitude towards disability births persists. The difference is that today prenatal test results can alert an expectant mother of her baby’s disability in the second or third trimester. And eugenics laws allow a mother to have a late-term abortion.

Estimates of how many pre-born children are terminated by reason of their disability range from 0.59% to 3%. Based on U.S. Center for Disease Control data of 629,898 legal induced abortions in 2019, this adds up to terminations of anywhere from 3,716 to 18,897 disabled babies per year. This many deaths for any other reason would count as a catastrophe warranting annual vigils and memorials of a 911 caliber. Instead a pre-born child celebrated at a baby shower one week is dehumanized and discarded as fetal refuse the next week.

Nonetheless there is good news on two fronts of a prenatal disability diagnosis. First, many mothers continue their pregnancy. For example, one couple attended a Little People of America (LPA) meeting to better understand what life would be like for their pre-born son diagnosed with dwarfism. LPA encouraged them at the meeting and maternity hospital after their son was born.

Second, between 2019 and 2021, several states banned abortions by reason of disability:

• Arizona, Kentucky, and Mississippi prohibited abortions because of genetic abnormality.
• Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah specifically called out Down Syndrome (Ds) as an unlawful reason for an abortion given a U.S. abortion rate of about 67% for Ds.

Although some courts have blocked these bans from going into effect, the final outcome could depend on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization expected in or about June 2022.

Hailed as the most important abortion case in 30 years, Dobbs gives SCOTUS the opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) which preclude a state’s interference with a woman’s choice to have an abortion prior to viability (about 24 weeks). The State of Mississippi law prohibiting abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy, except in cases of medical emergency or severe fetal abnormality, is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade. When lower courts in Dobbs found the Mississippi law unconstitutional, SCOTUS accepted Mississippi’s petition for review.

So what can we do to preserve the lives of pre-born babies with a disability? Pray that SCOTUS justices will have the courage to override Roe v. Wade!

For information on subscribing to my weekly blog and ordering books in my dwarfism trilogy, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com.

A diabetic could be denied coverage due to the mitigating measure of taking insulin leading to the absurd result that an employer could refuse an accommodation request to take a break to administer insulin because the employee was not disabled!

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) cemented this trend in two chilling cases. In Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., 527 U.S. 471 (1999), severely myopic twin sisters with uncorrected visual acuity of 20/200 were counted as nondisabled because their vision could be corrected with eyeglasses and contact lenses. In Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002) an employee with carpal tunnel syndrome was denied relief even though she was unable to perform manual tasks associated with her specific job. In creating a demanding standard to show disability, SCOTUS required the employee to be unable to perform tasks central to most people’s daily lives.

So how do we push back against SCOTUS decisions that allow disability discrimination to run rampant? It took several years, but Congress finally took action to reject Sutton and Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky rulings. Effective on January 1, 2009, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) reinstated a broad scope of protection for people with disabilities and made it easier for them to prove disability within the meaning of the ADA.

The ADAAA and implementing regulations retained the ADA’s basic definition of disability as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changed how these statutory terms should be interpreted:

• An impairment that substantially limits one major life activity need not limit other major life activities in order to be considered a disability and is a lower threshold than “prevents” or “severely or significantly restricts.”
• The definition of “major life activities” was expanded to include two non-exhaustive lists and is not determined by reference to whether it is of “central importance to daily life.”
• Mitigating measures that eliminate or reduce the symptoms or impact of an impairment shall not be considered in assessing whether an individual has a disability with the exception of “ordinary eyeglasses or contact lenses.”
• An impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active.

Congress corrective action put the ADA back on track and reminds us not to give up when courts take a wrong turn.

For additional information on the ADAAA, go to https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/americans-disabilities-act-amendments-act-2008

For information on my books and blog, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com.

Here are some examples below:

• Mike took his service dog, Hannah, off-leash for her daily exercise run. Management objected to his violation of the HOA off-leash rule and posted a No Pet sign where Hannah exercised. Mike is an amputee, has epilepsy, and uses a power wheelchair for mobility. Hannah is not a pet and is individually trained to fetch what Mike drops and to run for help should he fall or have a seizure. Hannah is obedient to 30 voice commands and doesn’t need a leash to stay close to Mike. After I exchanged letters with the HOA attorney, the HOA reluctantly made an exception and allowed Hannah to run off-leash.
• Shirley had parking violation notices placed on her SUV parked close to her building. Her mobility impairment made it impossible for her to walk to the distant newly designated area for SUVs. Despite having a disabled parking permit for her SUV, the HOA was threatening to tow, boot it, or impose a daily fine. My letter on Shirley’s behalf persuaded management that federal law trumps HOA parking rules.
• Margaret’s HOA directed her to move the pavers off her lawn to maintain the uniform appearance in front of the parking spaces. Margaret needed the pavers to provide a solid walking surface as a shortcut to her vehicle; she couldn’t walk the long way around on the sidewalk. The HOA manager’s bravado disintegrated when I met him in person and he approved Margaret’s paver accommodation.
• Joyce parked her battery-powered scooter on the walkway outside her unit when charging it with a cord through her window. Her neighbor complained about the obstruction to the path of travel. I proposed two alternatives: (1) install an electrical outlet under the stairwell so the scooter could be charged without blocking the walkway; or (2) widen the sidewalk in front of Joyce’s unit to allow a three-foot clear path of travel.  

None of the above accommodations cost the HOA any money, unlike Marilyn’s case. Marilyn was able to use the security key to unlock the front door of her apartment building, but she ambulated so slowly with her walker that the lock clicked closed before she reached the door. Besides, even if Marilyn reached the door before it locked, the door was too heavy for her to pull open. The HOA was persuaded to purchase and install an electronic door opener.

For more information, go to “A Guide to Disability Rights Laws: Fair Housing Act.” U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section. February 2020. https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm#anchor63409

This post is a condensed excerpt from chapter 17—Advocate for Independent Living, pages 169-171—in “Always an Advocate” releasing in October 2021. See book updates at my website, https://angelamuirvanetten.com/always-an-advocate/.

• As a lawyer in New Zealand, I advocated for clients in civil and criminal courts.
• As a project editor for Thomson Reuters, I wrote disability civil rights law books for lawyers.
• As a volunteer, I served as a board member of Centers for Independent Living in Ohio and New York.
• As an LPA volunteer, I was a leader in banning dwarf tossing in licensed establishments in New York and Florida, and breaking the six-inch reach barrier in buildings and facilities open to the public throughout America.
• As a staff writer for the Christian Law Association, I wrote religious liberty articles and training materials for nonlawyers.

Although I retired from CILO three years ago, I now work as an author and voice for people with dwarfism and disability. I write a weekly blog and have written two books. The third book in my dwarfism trilogy—ALWAYS AN ADVOCATE: Champions of Change for People with Dwarfism and Disabilities—is due to release in the Fall of 2021. My purpose is to offer hope to those who are skeptical about changing society’s discriminatory treatment of people with dwarfism and other disabilities.

I believe that advocacy makes change possible when people call out what is wrong, care enough to stand up for what is right, commit to the cause for as long as it takes, and choose the right forum. Just as important is collaborating in coalitions with like-minded people and organizations, communicating with honesty and respect, and having confidence in God’s power to change hearts.

Always An Advocate repeatedly demonstrates the power of advocacy:

• Titans of industry were required to lower ATMs, gas pumps, and elevator buttons to be within reach of people previously ignored.
• Public transportation must be accessible.
• Cheering crowds applauding dwarf tossing contests were silenced.
• Volunteer leaders successfully fought for organizational change and civility.
• Homeowners received reasonable accommodations to override discriminatory rules associations made about pavers, parking, service animals, and the like. 
• Voters used accessible equipment in accessible facilities served by staff trained in disability sensitivity.
• Emergency service plans included people with disabilities.
• People whose disability made them unable to work were successfully represented and approved for social security benefits.
• School children received an Individual Education Plan providing them with a free and appropriate public education.

Put this book on your “want to read” list and be inspired to advocate for the changes you—and others—need. It can be done.

For updated book release information, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com. Please subscribe to my blog and receive automatic delivery of weekly posts to your email inbox.

My experience is ironic given how many people violate disability parking laws without getting caught. So many without a placard or license tag block access aisles to an accessible parking space making it impossible to open doors wide enough to load a wheelchair or to put down a van lift. Others have all kind of excuses for parking in reserved spaces—”I’m just unloading, I’ll only be a few minutes, there’s nowhere else to park.” Some offenders are just plain obnoxious and park wherever they want maybe even to protect their flash car from getting scratched.

But what about the vehicles with placards and license tags driven by people who don’t appear disabled? When there’s no sign of a wheelchair or walker, vigilantes often challenge these drivers for illegal parking. This assumption is prejudicial to those with invisible disabilities that do qualify for disabled parking privileges due to breathing or heart conditions, pain, extreme fatigue, and/or impaired mobility. One woman reported getting two to four comments a week, people yelling at her, leaving notes on her windshield, knocking on her car window, or calling her a liar when she explained she had two prosthetic legs. Should she have pulled up her trouser leg to show them?

Nondisabled drivers who chauffeur a passenger who is eligible for disabled parking are also subjected to dirty looks and inappropriate challenges for lawfully using disabled parking.

So what does this mean for the vigilantes who police disability parking violations? Fair enough to confront those whose vehicle is missing a disabled parking placard or license tag, but unfair to accost a driver who doesn’t look disabled. It’s not our job to question whether the driver is disabled or to assume fraudulent use of a placard. Instead, when fraud is suspected, report the vehicle’s license plate and placard number to the police and/or your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

The police are equipped to investigate fraudulent cases where placards are borrowed from someone with a valid permit, issued based on false information, or counterfeited. The penalties for fraud are severe with fines as high as $10,000 for a felony, jail time up to six or 12 months for a misdemeanor, community service, and restrictions on professional licenses. 

So how do you handle those you perceive to be illegally parked in spaces reserved for people with disabilities?

For more of my writings, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com where you can subscribe to my weekly blog, find several retail links to my book—“Pass Me Your Shoes”—and get updates on the Fall 2021 publication of the third book in my dwarfism trilogy, Always An Advocate.