“The decision to move the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to the Department of Health and Human Services deserves an open mind—not immediate opposition,” writes Able Americans Director Rachel Barkley in a commentary published at RealClearEducation. Rachel explains: For the first time, special education and vocational rehabilitation can be more directly connected to …
No One Is Safe From the Pro-Death Agenda
Postscript to the 11-Part Series “Is Any Life Unworthy of Living?“ As we have seen, the seeds of assisted suicide and euthanasia were sown decades ago. However, the pro-death movement can no longer hide behind altruism and good faith. It is a cultish behemoth that seeks to destroy what does — or should — matter most: the dignified preservation of …
Collette Divitto: I Am One of Many With Down Syndrome. Start Listening to Us for a Change.
“Why are so many Americans still being told that disability means a life without opportunity?” In a commentary published at The Hill, Collette Divitto — a woman with Down syndrome who also serves as the founder and CEO of Collettey’s Cookies and a coalition member of Able Americans’ Campaign to Fix the Disability System — responds to the controversy that erupted …
Canada: A Society Gone Mad for Medicalized Killing
Part 11 in the 11-Part Series “Is Any Life Unworthy of Living?“ While the Netherlands and other European countries have descended slowly into the complete acceptance of medicalized killing, the slippery slope has become way steeper in Canada. For many years Canadian opponents of legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia waged highly visible campaigns to inform the public of the dangers …
Webinar Replay: Addressing Fraud, Waste and Abuse in Medicaid Home Healthcare Programs for Americans with Disabilities
Medicaid’s Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) is one of the most important sources of daily support for Americans with disabilities. It can provide personal care, respite for family caregivers, supported employment, assistive technology, home modifications, case management, behavioral supports, and other services that private insurance generally does not cover. That is why fraud, waste, and abuse in HCBS must be …
New Poll of Likely Voters Reveals Surprising Areas of Agreement on Disability Policy
Disability issues rarely command sustained attention in Washington, but a new poll suggests that voters across the political spectrum share more common ground on these issues than many policymakers may realize. To better understand public attitudes toward disability policy, Able Americans commissioned polling through the Echelon Insights Likely Voter Omnibus Survey. We asked voters about several key issues affecting Americans …
The Netherlands and the Rapid Descent into the Pro-Death Abyss
Part 10 in the 11-Part Series “Is Any Life Unworthy of Living?“ As we have seen throughout this series, “survival of the fittest” ideas and eugenics have historically shaped the modern global movements promoting assisted suicide and euthanasia. There is little doubt that the pro-death movement has made significant inroads, and has especially affected people with medical issues and other …
New Report Targets Medicaid Fraud While Protecting People with Disabilities
“Fraud must be rooted out. People with disabilities should not be uprooted with it.” Washington, D.C. — As the Trump Administration targets widespread fraud in government benefit programs, a new report from the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Able Americans initiative proposes six key reforms that would prevent fraud, waste, and abuse while still protecting Medicaid’s Home- and Community-Based …
Legal Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia Sweep the World – 2010-Present
Part 9 in the 11-Part Series “Is Any Life Unworthy of Living?“ As noted in Part 8, sentiment in the U.S. supporting assisted suicide and euthanasia grew exponentially after 2000. After the states of Oregon (1994) and Washington (2008) legalized assisted suicide, others quickly followed: Vermont (2013), California and Colorado (2016), Washington, D.C. (2017), Hawaii (2018), New Jersey (2019), Maine …
Fixing Fraud While Saving Medicaid for Those Who Need It
Waste, fraud, and abuse aren’t just budget problems—they’re human ones. By Leslie Ford, Sara Hart Weir, and Rachel Barkley Medicaid was created in 1965 to ensure that Americans who were poor, elderly, or disabled could access basic health care. But for Americans with disabilities, Medicaid’s early design had a serious flaw: It was built around institutions. For decades, people with …