On August 31^st, the Department of Justice, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, joined with three states in asking a court to vacate the provision in federal law that requires states to support people with disabilities in integrated community settings.  The states of Texas, Alaska, and Florida have been suing the government to overturn this long-held protection for the disabled, and now the current administration in Washington has essentially agreed with these states.  In other words, they have all agreed that federal law does not/will not grant people with disabilities the legal right to receive supports in the community.  It’s hard to remember a more embarrassing affront to basic human rights.

We already know that people with disabilities and mental health needs are a marginalized population who experience abuse and violence at far greater rates than the general population.  Given that fact, why the hell does the federal government want to remove one of the few protections that disabled people have?  In fact, the Trump administration has gone out of its way to remove the only federal language that is intended to keep people out of institutional care.  Earlier this summer, the DOJ inexplicably issued a memo stating that there is no federal disability law that provides a right to community integration.  Now, they are asking a judge to make it official, contradicting 30 years of accepted legal requirements.  It is baffling, to say the least, and utterly horrifying for people with disabilities.  People who have been victimized for generations are now being intentionally left behind by a government that has a moral right to help them, and it is unforgivable.

Even if the judge overseeing the case denies the motion now before him, which is unlikely, it will not dissuade the administration from reducing protections for people with disabilities.  This is a time for all advocates to stand up and be heard: once and for all, people with intellectual disabilities have the same right as everyone else to live in the community with dignity, safety, and acceptance.  It’s utterly disgraceful that we still need to talk about this, but given what happened in federal court this week, it seems we have to talk about it more loudly than ever.

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