[community] Disability Advocacy during the Coronavirus Crisis

[Cybele S]

https://www.propublica.org/article/people-with-intellectual-disabilities-may-be-denied-lifesaving-care-under-these-plans-as-coronavirus-spreads?utm_source=pardot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations

On Wed, Mar 25, 2020 at 6:47 PM Ushnish Sengupta <ushnish.sengupta at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Came across a joint Canadian initiative appealing to the Federal
> Government by a number of disability advocacy organization spearheaded by
> https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/
> Look for the document labeled:
> COVID-19 and Disability: Recommendations to the Canadian Government from
> Disability Related Organizations in Canada – March 24, 2020
> Ushnish
>
> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 9:53 PM Cybele S <cybele.sack at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Here's another complaint that got filed in the U.S. about this situation:
>>
>> https://www.centerforpublicrep.org/news/cpr-and-partners-file-second-complaint-regarding-illegal-disability-discrimination-in-treatment-rationing-during-covid-19-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR0NpXKF9-wvvIkU39xFlIvBG2l4ENoJ-2K4AJ3A8xidvp4_cU_TZl-m-CM
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 12:06 PM Cybele S <cybele.sack at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I also remember the group Not Dead Yet was engaged in the MAID
>>> conversation.
>>>
>>> Re pre-existing conditions, we should be quite specific.  I remember
>>> still how those with lung conditions were left out of the Uber policy
>>> conversation.  They should not be left out now.
>>>
>>> So who is particularly at risk in that sense?
>>>
>>> Thinking about advocacy, good to include:
>>>
>>> COPD and asthma and auto-immune groups.  And diabetes groups.  And HIV
>>> groups.  And heart and stroke groups.  And others helping folks who are
>>> immuno-compromised.
>>>
>>> Also thinking about people being forced to work who are at higher risk
>>> from this.
>>>
>>> And people experiencing homelessness and poverty.
>>>
>>> And all types of people with mental health struggles now.  At this
>>> point, everyone’s mental health is probably challenged so must be
>>> amplifying for a lot of people.
>>>
>>> The decisions made about who gets a vent could also include those with
>>> intellectual disabilities and biases against various cognitive disabilities.
>>>
>>> And of course all of the age discrimination groups like ACE.
>>>
>>> We sometimes have an issue in Canada that disability advocacy is
>>> difficult because it can be hard to build constituency.  Now it is so
>>> needed.
>>>
>>> I will start reaching out soon.
>>>
>>> Should we try to arrange a zoom call to discuss?
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Cybèle
>>>
>>> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 8:51 AM Jutta Treviranus <jtreviranus at ocadu.ca>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Catherine Frazee and the group that created the Vulnerable Persons
>>>> Standard http://www.vps-npv.ca, the Canadian Association for Community
>>>> Living, and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities were addressing this
>>>> bias before COVID-19. With the passing and revision of Medical Assistance
>>>> in Dying (MAID) legislation in Canada, there were regulators (and medical
>>>> decision-makers) that questioned whether a life with disability was worth
>>>> living. VPS,CACL and CCD have been fighting this attitude and the
>>>> regulations that have an impact on these choices in healthcare for some
>>>> time.
>>>>
>>>> Jutta
>>>>
>>>> > On Mar 24, 2020, at 8:11 AM, pina.dintino at gmail.com wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> > I did see something from David Lepovfsky last week, but not much more.
>>>> > Pina
>>>> >
>>>> > -----Original Message-----
>>>> > From: community <community-bounces at lists.idrc.ocadu.ca> On Behalf Of
>>>> Ushnish
>>>> > Sengupta
>>>> > Sent: March 24, 2020 12:19 AM
>>>> > To: Inclusive Design Community <community at lists.idrc.ocadu.ca>
>>>> > Subject: [community] Disability Advocacy during the Coronavirus Crisis
>>>> >
>>>> > Anyone know who in Canada is doing disability advocacy work during the
>>>> > cirisis, ensuring rights remain protected in a changing context?
>>>> >
>>>> > Wall Street Journal, Trump and now CNN as I watch it and others are
>>>> musing
>>>> > out aloud, while others are making more quiet implicit fatalistic
>>>> > calculation of jobs vs lives. Who lives is decided according to some
>>>> > utilitarian calculation of potential long term economic value of a
>>>> life. In
>>>> > some calculations, the elderly and disabled are accorded a lower
>>>> value of
>>>> > life.
>>>> >
>>>> > THESE ARE NOT MY VIEWS, I am raising them as issues being discussed
>>>> openly
>>>> > in mainstream media. Here is a sample of articles from the UK and the
>>>> US
>>>> > below. Not much to be found from Canada on the topic.
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/23/uks-emergency-coronavirus-bi
>>>> > ll-will-put-vulnerable-at-risk
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/coronavirus-washington-triage-disabled
>>>> > -handicapped.html
>>>> > --
>>>> > Ushnish
>>>> > ________________________________________
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>>>
>
> --
>