Dear Editor,
In 1973, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act became the first civil rights legislation protecting disabled people from discrimination. But no implementing regulations were enacted at that time. It took almost another four years, and consistent activism from people with disabilities culminating in a 26-day peaceful occupation of a federal building in San Francisco, before regulations were issued.
Even after these regulations were implemented, however, the promises of Section 504 remained largely unfulfilled. The disabled remained unable to get mammograms and pap smears because of inaccessible equipment, were still told they weren’t eligible for an organ transplant because they “can’t take care of themselves,” and were ruled unfit parents because they had a disability.
I am blind and cannot access my primary care doctor’s digital portal using my screen reader. I need sighted help to access my medical information and to communicate with my doctor as the portal was intended to be used.
Last month HHS finally issued a proposed rule to address these continuing problems. HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said, “Today’s rule is long overdue and a major step forward in the fight to ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded from or discriminated against in health care and social services across the United States.”
You can read the proposed regulation online at tinyurl.com/HumanServiceDiscrimination; public comments can be submitted until Nov. 13 at tinyurl.com/CommentOnRegulations.
Charlie Murphy, Bennington
