Thirty national disability organizations blast “Deadly Consequences” segment of the Dr. Phil show

On May 29, thirty national disability organizations lead by Not Dead Yet issued a letter to the Dr. Phil Show, criticizing its April 13th segment entitled “Deadly Consequences.” 

On May 29, thirty national disability organizations lead by Not Dead Yet issued a letter to the Dr. Phil Show, criticizing its April 13th segment entitled “Deadly Consequences.”

According to the letter, the segment “presented the idea that parents should be able to euthanize their children who have intellectual disabilities” and did so in “such an extremely unbalanced manner as to amount to a promotion of such a deadly proposition.”

National organizations signing onto the letter include ADAPT, the American Association of People with Disabilities, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Easter Seals, National Association of the Deaf, National Disability Rights Network, Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), The Arc of the United States United Spinal. Over sixty state and local disability organizations also joined in the letter.

The organizations call upon Phil McGraw and the Dr. Phil Show “to publicly apologize for the ‘Deadly Consequences’ segment and to give equal time to individuals with intellectual disabilities and organizations advocating their equal rights.”

“This segment was such a horrific assault on people with intellectual disabilities that ignoring it would be a dangerous mistake,” said Stephen Drake, Not Dead Yet’s research analyst. “Dr. Phil even brought in Kevorkian’s former attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, to explain why parents should be allowed to order a lethal injection for their disabled children.”

Not Dead Yet copied the letter to some of the larger advertising sponsors of the Dr. Phil Show, including Hershey’s, Mars, Inc, and Progressive.

On May 18, the The Arc of the United States, which is described as “the nation’s largest organization serving and advocating on behalf of people with I/DD, with a network of over 700 chapters across the country,” issued an open letter criticizing the “Deadly Consequences” segment as well. The Arc letter asked that Dr. Phil “plan another show that would demonstrate this history, illustrating how people with severe disabilities who were previously relegated to institutions have defied all expectations.”

See http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/5/prweb9551185.htm for full format press release.