An Unusual Anti-Disability Drug Is Being Used in the US

Main summary

The evolution of thinking can be an effective help for people with disabilities. So far, it is difficult to evaluate the therapeutic value of this drug. Because it has barely begun to be used. But who knows what will happen in 10 or 20 years. In 2024, only the first step in that direction has been taken. The event took place in California. Although one person says this has been happening for a long time and all over the United States.

In 2024, Assembly Bill 248 (Dignity for All Act) goes into effect in the state of California. This legislation removes terms from the language of state legislators that may be offensive to people with disabilities. The words and phrases “persons with mental retardation”, “children with mental retardation”, “retardation” and “disability” have been removed from the texts of current laws. “Individuals with disabilities” or “individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities” will be used in place of the deleted phrases.(1)

The new law is another step towards eliminating feelings of inferiority among people with disabilities. The logical result of this process will be the understanding that disability is not a problem, but only a characteristic of a person, such as eye or hair color. This has enormous psychological importance for disabled people. In turn, a good psychological state is the key to physical health. Thus, the evolution of the thinking of the people around us is a type of medicine that has great therapeutic meaning for people with disabilities.

American society is moving slowly but surely along this path. In the mid-19th century, the word “idiot” was commonly used in medical documents.(2) But now this word is considered an insult. Probably, after a while there will be the same changes with the words that are now used in relation to people with disabilities. Perhaps the concept of “disability” can become an insult. And following the texts of the laws, the use of offensive phrases in everyday life will be prohibited. Society will change its attitude towards people with disabilities. People with disabilities will no longer be considered disabled. This is a great victory on the path to a fulfilled life.

However, many obstacles stand in the way of legislative therapy. According to political scientists, this is the current constitution and the political confrontation between Democrats and Republicans. Here’s what the experts answered the question:

What is the likelihood that a federal law will be adopted prohibiting the use of certain terms to protect the dignity of people with disabilities?

“Zero. It would violate the first amendment. Large federal or medical organizations can issue guidelines and update their terminology to be more respectful of the disability community, but a federal law would never be passed,” said the executive director of Hill and State Strategies. Alyssa N. Batchelor-Causey, M.S.

“Given Republican control of Congress – and their inability to get anything done – I doubt this type of legislation will pass until at least 2025 or 2026,” said RBI Strategies and Research president and co-founder Rick Ridder.

“Nothing will pass the House until Democrats regain the majority,” said Reciprocal Results Executive Director Roy Moskowitz.

“I think the entire country follows the first amendment and the rest of the constitution, except California. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. It protects freedom of speech, press, meeting. and the right to petition the Government for redress of grievances,” said Rosetta Stone Communications CEO and co-founder Steve Schultz.

In the current situation, the opinion of the head of polls The Trafalgar Group, Robert Cahaly, is very interesting. The specialist believes that offensive words are disappearing from the American vocabulary not thanks to legislative initiatives, but thanks to society.

“Most of our recent polls suggest that the American public as a whole has had enough of political correctness and cancel culture when it comes to certain descriptive words and pronouns. In general, people want to be polite and not offend others , and therefore see no need for speech laws and the litigation that inevitably entails. While this type of legislation may work in California, it would have very little success in most of the rest of the country,” Mr. Cahaly said .

Your opinion forces each of us to honestly ask ourselves: “How do I communicate with people with disabilities?”

References

1) https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB248

2) https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/california/california-2024-laws-retarded-addict-state-terminology/3409414/

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Cite this page (APA): Pavel Kuljuk. (2024, February 28). An unusual anti-disability drug is being used in the US. Disabled world. Retrieved March 2, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/editorials/anti-disability.php

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