Doctors have established a precedent with Ashley—it is ethically and socially acceptable to mutilate the bodies of disabled people. What Ashley and her doctors have failed to grasp is that all disabled people share a common bond. In my opinion there is no difference between myself and Ashley despite the great disparity in our intellectual abilities. If you doubt this let me relay one story from my childhood. In 1972 I was a 7th grade student at a Catholic school in New York. The school was not unusual but I was. I had a rare neurological condition that was beginning to take its toll on my ability to walk. Shortly after school started I vividly recall homework being handed out and the nun came over to me and said, “You no longer need to do homework because you are one of God’s special children”.A thorough collection of the disability community's responses to The Ashley Treatment.
From NewsDay, Sen. Charles Schumer (D), of New York talks about the special difficulties faced by injured National Guardsmen and Reservists:
Disability claims filed by National Guardsmen and Reservists are denied at twice the rate of active duty troops, he said. Guardsmen and reservists in college sent for full-time training earn just $297 per month, while active duty soldiers earn more than $1,000, he said.The South Dakota Argus Leader reports on the unusual motions filed in the murder trial of deaf defendant Daphne Wright:
In addition, wounded guardsmen and reservists often must recuperate at medical facilities far from home, he said. They are tied to units scattered throughout the country.
The Guard and Reserves have been used more in the Iraq War than in any prior conflict. At one point, half of the deployed troops in Iraq were with the Guard or Reserves.
"They are risking the same amount of danger," said Schumer (D-N.Y.) at a news conference at Hofstra University Monday, surrounded by cadets with the school's ROTC program. "They should be given the same benefits."
The lawyers requested the victim's friends and family be prohibited by the court from acting out or displaying emotion during the trial. They also requested the court not allow "gruesome or inflammatory photographs" from the crime.
Wright, 43, is accused of kidnapping, killing and dismembering Darlene VanderGiesen, 42, in February 2006. Wright and VanderGiesen were both deaf, which has become an issue in the court proceedings.Prosecutors have indicated they will seek the death penalty if Wright is convicted on the charges she faces: murder and kidnapping.
But Wright's lawyers say that because she is deaf, it would be cruel to execute her.
And to my Malaysian friend who sent me a link about disability news there, I have lost that email. Please resend the info and other news in the future.
0 comments:
Post a Comment