Category Archives: medical discrimination

Jensen Caraballo: The Misguided Compassion of Assisted Suicide in Disability

ableism, access to health care, assisted suicide, disability, health disparities, long term services and supports, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, quality of life judgments, , ,

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

Anita Cameron, assisted suicide, duty to die, health disparities, MAID, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, Pain treatment/management, palliative care, , ,

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 →

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

ableism, access to health care, better dead than disabled, health disparities, Lisa Blumberg, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, ,

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 →

Lisa Blumberg: Brain Injured Are Denied Life Sustaining Treatment Too Early

American Academy of Neurology, better dead than disabled, brain injury, health disparities, life-sustaining treatment, Lisa Blumberg, medical discrimination, New York Times, Our News & Commentary Blog, pvs, quality of life judgments, rush to judgment, treatment withdrawal, , , , , ,

  A 2007 Not Dead Yet blog described “rush to judgment” cases where people who had sustained a major brain injury were denied life sustaining treatment before appropriate time had passed to determine if they could become conscious. It referred to an article co-authored by Dr. Joel Frader, now a member of the Northwestern Center … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg: Brain Injured Are Denied Life Sustaining Treatment Too Early →

Lisa Blumberg: The 504 Regulations Now Explicitly Prohibit Healthcare Discrimination Based on Disability

better dead than disabled, Health care decision-making, health disparities, HHS, informed consent, life-sustaining treatment, Lisa Blumberg, medical discrimination, Our News & Commentary Blog, treatment withdrawal, , ,

The updating of the 504 Regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services under the Biden-Harris administration is historic. Various provisions included in the amendment interact and work together to promote equal access to healthcare for persons with disabilities. Not Dead Yet’s response to the  Department’s request for public comment when the updates were … Continue reading Lisa Blumberg: The 504 Regulations Now Explicitly Prohibit Healthcare Discrimination Based on Disability →