‘Nothing about us without us’: Disability activists oppose Brett Kavanaugh

Isabella Rosario
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read

President Trump’s nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court has been met with intense criticism. With confirmation hearings underway, disability activists — including Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. — say Kavanaugh is a threat to the rights of Americans with disabilities.

Kavanaugh has come under fire for his rulings in disability-related cases. The judge has a pattern of ruling in favor of employers when they are accused of discrimination, like in Baloch v. Kempthorne and Johnson v. Interstate Management Company.

Doe ex rel. Tarlow v. D.C. has been the most widely-condemned case, in which three intellectually disabled women were subjected to elective surgeries without consultation. One had eye surgery and two were forced to have abortions. Kavanaugh determined that because the women “lack mental capacity,” their healthcare wishes did not need to be considered.

Kavanaugh has also argued that the D.C. Circuit Court should consider a claim that the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. In her TIME Magazine article, Duckworth said Kavanaugh’s record with the ACA “suggests that he’d vote to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”

Disability activists have mobilized online under hashtags like #CripTheVote, #WhatsAtStake, and #StopKavanaugh.

Offline, demonstrators have expressed concerns inside and outside the walls of the confirmation hearings. One protester interrupted the September 5 hearing, shouting, “Look at [Kavanaugh’s] ruling against people with disabilities, with intellectual disabilities! He does not believe that people with disabilities have rights!”

Activist Elizabeth Weintrub, who has cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities, testified against Kavanaugh on September 7. Weintrub was forcibly institutionalized by her parents in her twenties, a violation of self-determination she now advocates against.

“Judge Kavanaugh had a chance to stand up for the rights of the women in the case, but he failed,” Weintraub said in reference to Kavanaugh’s decision in Doe ex rel. Tarlow v. D.C. “If Judge Kavanaugh is confirmed, I’m afraid that my right to make decisions for myself will be taken away.”

Weintrub also explained that just because people with intellectual disabilities may have difficulty understanding doctors, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a say. Rather, they should be given accessible explanations.

“My husband also has a disability and both of us didn’t understand [the doctor], so we asked my sister to help us to understand these issues. What I’m basically saying is, nothing about us without us,” Weintrub said.

“Nothing about us without us” is a rallying cry for the disability rights movement. The perseverance of activists led to the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which ensured “equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency” for people with disabilities.

Inequality persists, however, and the Trump administration has been accused of trying to further weaken the ADA. ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (HR 620), which passed the House, would add a “notice and cure” requirement for ADA lawsuits. In other words, it gives businesses even less incentive to repair ADA violations, like inadequate ramps or parking.

“The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court is a very real threat to the lives and liberty of people with disabilities,” Ted Kennedy, Jr., Chair of the The American Association of People with Disabilities, said. “The Senate must hear from the disability community about the dangers of this nomination.”

Only time will tell if they do.

Isabella Rosario
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