Rick Santorum, all disabled people deserve the care your daughter gets

[kpete]

Rick Santorum, all disabled people deserve the care your daughter gets
The way Santorum publicises the life of his daughter Isabella shows up his hypocrisy on health and disability

Rick Santorum made headlines in the US last weekend by taking a break from campaigning in the Republican primaries to spend time with his three-year-old daughter, Isabella, who was hospitalised with pneumonia. Respiratory infections are a common complication of Trisomy 18, the genetic disorder Isabella was born with, and life expectancies for people with this condition are often "measured in days and weeks". Fortunately, Isabella made it through this medical crisis, but there will be more in her future.

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Thanks to the excellent standard of medical care Isabella receives and the substantial support she enjoys, she's beaten the odds for people with her condition. Unfortunately, not everyone in the US can access the same level of care. Oddly, Santorum is one of the politicians involved in opposing reforms intended to expand access to health care, thus making a significant difference for people living with genetic disorders. This contradicts his stance taken in public speeches, where he claims he wants people to see the dignity in "her and every other child" and fight for the needs of families with disabled children. It's obvious that Santorum and his family love Isabella very much and are deeply committed to her wellbeing. Whether that love translates into true dignity and inclusion for all people with disabilities is debatable.

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Isabella's condition is severe, and she will require lifelong assistance, but that doesn't mean she's not capable of doing anything other than loving her family. There's no way to know her potential until she's allowed to express it. People with developmental disabilities are members of the workforce, have meaningful relationships outside their families, and engage in social activities. Social support for inclusion helps them be full participants in society, and yet some of Santorum's proposed budget cuts slash the very services that help people like his daughter to live, work and socialise independently. Evidently "dignity" should be open only to those who can afford it.

If Santorum wants to do the right thing for people with disabilities, he needs to back it with sound policy and more inclusive rhetoric. All disabled people deserve the care, access and support Isabella receives, not just those born into fortunate circumstances.

the rest:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/01/rick-santorum-disabled-daughter-hypocrisy

[atreides1]

1. Oxymoron

Santorum and doing the right thing!!!

[Angry Dragon]

2. he is just a selfish person

[area51]

3. Just like

everyone severely injured like Gabby Giffords deserves the same level of care she's getting.

For rightwingers reading this thread, our medical care system rations care based on your wallet, and based on how much money the CEOs of the insurance companies will make by denying you care.