A new article from Disability Scoop..
As confirmation hearings get underway for President Donald Trump's pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, the nominee is facing unprecedented opposition from disability advocacy groups.
More than 100 organizations recently wrote to members of the U.S. Senate asking them to oppose the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the high court.
"Our review of Judge Kavanaugh's record indicates that his confirmation would place at risk access to health care and civil rights protections for people with disabilities, opportunities for people with disabilities to make choices about their own lives, and the ability of executive branch agencies to interpret and enforce the law," the letter reads. "Because Judge Kavanaugh's confirmation would tip the balance of the Supreme Court toward such regressive views, we ask that you vote against his confirmation."
Groups ranging from the American Association of People with Disabilities to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network are urging people with disabilities and their allies to call, write or contact their senators on social media.
"In the almost two decades I've been doing this work, I've never seen the disability community come out so strongly and so unified in opposing a Supreme Court nomination," said Alison Barkoff, director of advocacy at the Center for Public Representation. "I think people feel so strongly about what's at risk."
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, which released a 9-page analysis of Kavanaugh's record on civil rights, health care, education and employment discrimination, says his confirmation would "threaten hard-won rights and protections for people with disabilities."
"We have real concerns about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh believes that an individual with a disability's voice matters."
Two people with disabilities are expected to appear as witnesses during Kavanaugh's hearings to address the community's worries over the nominee's views on health care.
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