Category Archives: health disparities

Pam Heavens: Do not support legalizing physician-assisted suicide

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The Times Weekly published this opinion letter by Illinois disability advocate Pam Heavens on October 2nd: The Illinois General Assembly is considering a bill that will legalize physician-assisted suicide. I am a 68-year-old Disabled woman and proud member of “Stop Assisted Suicide Illinois Coalition”, which vehemently opposes this bill. This organization includes representatives from diverse … Continue reading Pam Heavens: Do not support legalizing physician-assisted suicide →

Jensen Caraballo: The Misguided Compassion of Assisted Suicide in Disability

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Introduction Assisted suicide is often presented as a compassionate choice for those experiencing unbearable suffering. However, as someone who has navigated life’s challenges as a disability rights advocate and someone who was once confined to a nursing home, I see a troubling oversight in this narrative. It fails to consider the systemic barriers that prevent … Continue reading Jensen Caraballo: The Misguided Compassion of Assisted Suicide in Disability →

Anita Cameron: I Still Wouldn’t Want Assisted Suicide

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Two weeks ago I went to the ER in extreme pain. Normally, I live with level ten pain. I’ve gotten used to it. In a flare, I’ve learned not to moan or cry out. But this pain, which started out as a small annoyance, spread and went down my spine, then, into my chest and … Continue reading Anita Cameron: I Still Wouldn’t Want Assisted Suicide →

Assisted Suicide Laws Based On the Oregon Model Sweep In Disabled People

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By Lisa Blumberg, JD In 2014, in connection with whether assisted suicide laws would ever be expanded to include people with cognitive  decline, Barbara Coombs Lee, then director of Compassion & Choices, said, “It is an issue for another day but is no less compelling.” This was a momentary slip. The political strategy of Compassion … Continue reading Assisted Suicide Laws Based On the Oregon Model Sweep In Disabled People →

A Watershed Moment: NIH Designates Disabled People as a Health Disparity Population

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By Lisa Blumberg, JD In late 2023, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), designated people with disabilities as a population with health disparities for research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that NIMHD now recognizes that people with disabilities as a group experience significant disparities in their rates of … Continue reading A Watershed Moment: NIH Designates Disabled People as a Health Disparity Population →