Tag: people with disabilities

Disability groups fight back as California assisted suicide rates skyrocket

By Cassy Fiano-Chesser  The number of deaths from assisted suicide in California increased by 63% in just one year, according to the state’s latest report. In 2015, California passed a law legalizing assisted suicide, with legislators passing the bill during a special session meant to be dedicated to Medicare funding. For that reason, Superior Court Judge Daniel A. …

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Young family faces daughter’s diagnosis with faith: ‘In God, there’s hope’

By Lisa Bast  Kali Jackson always knew she’d attend college. Her goal was to study nursing and eventually embark on a career as a pediatrician. Since the sixth grade, Jackson had been enrolled in The Young Scholars Program with the promise of a full scholarship to Ohio State University. She never saw herself in the role …

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Teaching the brains of paralyzed people to communicate

By Michael Cook One of the most terrifying accidents imaginable is to become paralyzed and to be unable to speak. Fortunately, scientists are gradually learning how to interpret signals from the brain and translate them into letters, words, and eventually speech. In a milestone for brain-computer interfaces (BCI), researchers at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley have shown …

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The Life-Affirming Response to Preborn Children with a Life-Limiting Disability

By Ashley Leenerts, Texas Right to Life When a family receives a life-limiting diagnosis for their preborn child, these parents face life-altering changes to their future plans. This is a heartbreaking situation that has been highlighted in recent news because of a lawsuit against Texas’ strong Pro-Life laws, which do not include an exception for …

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Seeing the possible and embracing it with incredible enthusiasm, grace and good humor

By Chelsea Zimmerman The other day I took Grammerly’s “Who is your poet BFF?” Quiz and got Maya Angelou. I didn’t immediately think much of the results. It was just a fun little distraction. But then I read the poem that was listed on the author’s page there, and wow. I was surprised by how …

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Disability author angry with being associated with movie “Me Before You”

By Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director – Euthanasia Prevention Coalition EW News reported that Francesco Clark, an ambassador for the Christopher and Dana Reeves Foundation and an entrepreneur who founded a skincare line for people with disabilities, is angry that his memoir, Walking Papers, is referenced in the film Me Before You. Walking Papers tells the …

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Tim Tebow gave people with disabilities a Night to Shine with a very special prom

By Cassy Fiano In a world that routinely treats people with disabilities as a group that must be eliminated, it is refreshing to see someone who acknowledges that everyone has value and dignity. Tim Tebow is one of those people. Notorious for his devout Christian faith, he has been an outspoken advocate for life – …

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Baby Adam, whom others called a curse, shares why every child is precious

By Nancy Flanders When Adam was born just over four years ago in India, he was immediately abandoned by his birth parents. Born with severe physical deformities, including a cleft lip and palate, no eyelids, no nose, fused legs, and hand abnormalities, he was considered a curse, and his parents threatened to kill him if …

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Baby born missing most of brain turns two, says first word

By Nancy Flanders In March 2013, Emma Murray of Scotland was rushed to the hospital with what she thought was appendicitis. It turned out, she was actually in labor. But as she was beginning to process this news, she was hit with a devastating diagnosis for her son. As soon as baby Aaron was born, …

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Teenage photographer with Down syndrome wins national Positive Role Model award

By Texas Right to Life October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and today we are revisiting one of our heroes with Down syndrome, teenage photographer Oliver Hellowell. Oliver Hellowell is an internationally acclaimed photographer who is only 19 years old. His Facebook page has garnered tens of thousands of likes – and for good reason: …

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Not Dead Yet’s letter to Governor Jerry Brown Urging Veto of Assisted Suicide Bill

Editor’s note. This letter was published by Not Dead Yet on their website on September 22, 2015. NDY’s letter enclosed the 1976 image shown below of Governor Brown, during his previous stint as Governor, appointing Ed Roberts, considered the “father of independent living,” to head up the California rehabilitation agency. September 21, 2015 Governor Jerry …

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Better off dead? What Peter Singer doesn’t get about disability and euthanasia

By Alex Schadenberg, International Chair, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition In August Peter Singer, the bioethicist from Princeton University, debated Anthony Fisher the Archbishop of Sydney Australia. Singer, who has published books supporting euthanasia, assisted suicide, and infanticide, faced strong criticism from the disability rights community. Craig Wallace, the convenor of Lives Worth Living, a disability advocacy …

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