{"id":215889,"date":"2019-12-26T17:54:41","date_gmt":"2019-12-26T23:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=215889"},"modified":"2019-12-27T12:32:29","modified_gmt":"2019-12-27T18:32:29","slug":"head-aclu-disability-rights-supports-aborting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/head-aclu-disability-rights-supports-aborting\/","title":{"rendered":"AWFUL: Head of ACLU disability rights project supports aborting the disabled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On the one hand, there has never been a better time for people with Down syndrome to be alive; advances in science, education, and medicine means they are living longer, healthier, and more independent lives than ever before. Yet on the other hand, despite this fact, people continue to argue that it’s acceptable to deny someone with Down syndrome his or her right to life — simply because of a disability. Even many of the people whose lives are allegedly dedicated to advocating for those with disabilities seem to think preborn children with Down syndrome should be targets for abortion<\/a>, as seen in a horrifying op-ed in The Hill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Susan Mizner and Alexa Kolbi Molinas wrote the opinion article together, and both work for the ACLU. Mizner, however, is the head<\/em> of the ACLU Disability Rights Project<\/em> — and the argument made was essentially that because the lives of people with disabilities are not perfect, thanks to a still-ableist society, it should be acceptable to have abortions due to disability. This was written directly in response to the growing number of Down syndrome abortion bans being passed across the country, which recognize that it is eugenic and ableist to target someone for death simply because they have a disability.<\/p>\n

According to Mizner and Kolbi Molinas, these bans are pointless, because they don’t improve the lives of people with disabilities. “It does not ensure that pregnant people are given information, resources, and support to raise their children \u2014 including children with Down syndrome (or any other disability) \u2014 with dignity,” they wrote. “It does not expand access to necessary services and opportunities or protect any person with disabilities from discrimination in education, housing, employment, medical care, or any other area of life. It does not make it easier for people with disabilities to have \u2014 and keep \u2014 their children. And it does not protect people with disabilities from violence and abuse, such as coerced sexual and reproductive health decisions, sterilization abuse, and police violence.”<\/p>\n

While Down syndrome bans like the one they were specifically addressing — HB 214 in Ohio<\/a> — do not solve all of the problems people with disabilities face, they do make it more likely that they will have the ability to live<\/em>, which is the most important thing. Without life, none of those other protections can be offered.<\/p>\n