Marshall made a mockery of special needs families, religion and the GOP at a press conference on February 18^th with his statement that:

The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children…

In an apology that seems to have come from a completely different person, Marshall stated:

I have devoted a generation of work to defending disabled and unwanted children, and have always maintained that they are special blessings to their parents. Nevertheless, I regret any misimpression my poorly chosen words may have created as to my deep commitment to fighting for these vulnerable children and their families.

Too late.  Republicans look like they are completely out of touch and have no sincere interest in supporting special needs families.  And they have probably lost an important debate.

There are plenty of reasons to stop funding Planned Parenthood without making deeply offensive, no-basis arguments designed to scare people.  For starters, in 2008 Planned Parenthood the largest recipient of Title X funds, reported that it receives 34% of its revenue through government grants and contracts. While it is true that Title X funds cannot be used to directly fund abortions, taxpayer dollars are being used to cover allowed expenses such as overhead and operational costs.  This frees up other funds to promote and provide abortions.

Also controversial is the 5:1 ratio of abortions performed on black to white women. It has been said that abortion has killed more black Americans than crime or AIDS. In fact, Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, was a well-known supporter of eugenics.

In 2008, Planned Parenthood of California overcharged the government over 5.2 million dollars.  Recently in Alabama, a Planned Parenthood clinic was put under probation when an employee was caught advising an underage abortion-seeking teen how to evade the parental notification law.  There are more of these unethical practices being researched all over the country.

Hopefully Marshall’s debating skills are not typical within the GOP.  Republicans in the disability community won’t stand for this type of ignorance.  Don’t let them down.  Primary this guy in 2010.

Let’s face it; Gov. Christie doesn’t have to do much to improve on past administrations.  But will he go beyond that and begin to solve the problems that are worsening with each passing decade?  There are many disability advocates keeping an eye on this since New Jersey institutionalizes more disabled citizens than almost every other state — the exceptions being Texas and California. Ethan Ellis, one of the state’s most respected and involved disabled citizens is watching and reporting.  Mr. Ellis recently analyzed a report released by Gov. Christie’s office that outlined their plan over the next 4 to 8 years.   There are definitely promising aspects.

The Governor plans on closing New Lisbon and Woodbridge Developmental Centers and putting the money into community supports.  This represents a start in New Jersey catching up to the rest of the country in treating its disabled citizens with dignity and respect.  Another highlight is the governor’s plan to combine the Division of Disability Service; an agency that deals with adult onset disabilities, with The Division of Developmental Disabilities that deals with children’s disabilities.  According to Ellis, this merger “reflect(s) our growing understanding that it is more efficient, effective and equitable to organize supports by functional need, not diagnosis or age.”

The Governor’s team plans to follow through on the former Children and Families commissioner, Kimberly Ricketts’ idea to phase out 18 schools serving disabled children, teen parents and children with behavioral problems.  Rather than being a simple cost-cutting measure, including students with disabilities in the same schools as their non-disabled peers removes barriers and enables all students, including previously excluded groups, to learn and participate effectively within the general school system. Former Governor Jon Corzine blocked this as part of a deal to protect union jobs.

Forward thinking?  Yes.  Is it a step in the right direction? You bet.  Keep it up Gov. Christie and you might move N.J. up more than just one rung on the disability ladder.

Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.

–George H. W. Bush on the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The above quote might be the last time I can remember a president seriously considering the disability community that contains over 50 million Americans.  In the 2008 elections, both parties released disability policy statements but the issues that concern the disability community have never been fully addressed.  It seems that the Democrats use public welfare as one way to show their support of the community.  Ironically, many members of the community desire self-sufficiency and economic independence, ideals much more in line with conservative thought. There is a great piece in The New Atlantis that discusses “Disability Politics: Liberals, Conservatives and the Disability Rights Movement”.  The Republicans’ silence on these types of issues often drives an otherwise conservative voter into voting for the Democrats.  If the GOP wants to win in 2012, this is one group of voters that can help.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) are co-sponsoring The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in the Schools Act. Last spring, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report detailed hundreds of cases of school children being abused as a result of inappropriate uses of restraint and seclusion, often involving untrained staff.  While many of these testimonies demonstrated procedures that resulted in injuries and trauma to students and their families there were also testimonies heard from families whose children died tragically due to these wrongful practices.  The Children’s Health Act of 2000 only addresses hospitals and other medical and community-based facilities; schools are exempt.  As the mother of an autistic child, I praise McMorris Rodgers for taking the Republican lead on this issue and introducing an act that will withhold federal funds from those who would harm our children.

Being the mother of a child with Downs Syndrome, McMorris Rodgers knows that there are a disproportionate number of disabled children that are subject to this abuse.  McMorris Rodgers is a promising Republican leader in championing disability rights issues.