On this, the 50th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act, and on the heels of the HHS’ announcement two weeks ago to update and significantly strengthen its nondiscrimination regulations in Section 504 in health and human service programs and activities, the National Institutes of Health officially designated people with disabilities as a “health disparity population.”
This designation is an important acknowledgment and means that people with disabilities will be intentionally included in NIH funding and programs intended to address health disparities. People with disabilities’ experience of healthcare has too often been one that is inaccessible, ill-equipped, and one that has devalued their lives, which has led to egregious health disparities, under-resourced supports and services, and lives cut short, including those states in which ableist assisted suicide laws have infiltrated.
The Patients’ Rights Action Fund celebrates the Rehabilitation Act’s importance and applauds these recent significant developments in support and defense of the equitable treatment and healthcare experiences and outcomes of our allies with disabilities.
Canada suspends plans to allow psychiatric euthanasia INDEFINITELY! Today the Canadian Ministers of Justice and Health announced that the plan to allow MAID (euthanasia) for patients with psychiatric disorders in March 2027, will be POSTPONED INDEFINITELY. This came on the same day as a Parliament vote scheduled on their C-218 bill that would permanently exclude
Canada Halts One Assisted Suicide Expansion While Proposing Another Canada just announced a significant reversal on euthanasia, but also a troubling new expansion. The Canadian government says it will introduce legislation to indefinitely prevent people whose sole underlying condition is mental illness from qualifying for euthanasia. That is welcome news. The expansion was originally scheduled
Delaware Assisted Suicide Lawsuit: A Critical Hearing Before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals From the Desk of Matthew P. Vallière Sept. 24, 2026 Yesterday, I was honored to represent the plaintiffs in our lawsuit against the state of Delaware at a hearing at the 3rd Circuit Court of appeals in Newark, New Jersey.
