Students and Citizens Against Futile Ethics
S.A.F.E. Keeping Disabled People Safe

"It is the Nature of love to create. It is the Nature of hate to destroy."-Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

Current News

Ordinary People and Actor Martin Sheen Speaks out 

Against Initiative 1000:

Barbara Wagner, denied coverage for a cancer drug under Oregon's 

Medicaid plan, urges Washington voters to vote no on Initiative 1000:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36nlylod0rY

John Peyton, a Washington man with ALS, speaks with Fox News' 

Laura Ingram about his opposition to assisted suicide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qr9_hzVfYI

Martin Sheen, an actor known to have liberal political convictions,

(as opposed to conservative ones, which the media repeatedly

associates with opposition to assisted suicide), has

helped release an ad that urges people to vote no on Initiative 100, which

would legalize assisted suicide in Washington State:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGLaZmOZFxo

Reba De Torneyay, a former supporter of assisted suicide in 

Washington state, says that her husband's death enlightened

her to it's negative consequences:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6F9WX9P4Zc&NR=1

 Political News:

Because of the upcoming Presidential election, we will now include information about both presidential candidates and their positions on disability issues. We hope that this will provide voters with accurate information to aide in their decision in November. The candidates and their policies are presented in alphabetical order. 

Education:

Senator McCain

Special Education:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtsVUgRZ0FY

No Child Left Behind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGnhQM3PRlQ&feature=related

Senator Obama

Special Education:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao8MB2qTYSM

No Child Left Behind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsVimwm6xQ4&feature=related

Americans with Disabilities Act, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, The Community Choice Act, and the Money Follows the Person Initiative:

Senator McCain

Disability Rights and the Economy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEQnPB_4EBg

the Community Choice Act:

(It has been established that Senator McCain rejects the Community Choice Act as it is currently written despite being in support of the Money Follows the Person Initiative. Unfortunately, we have had a difficult time finding a condensed statement by McCain on the Community Choice Act that wasn't significantly edited to include only the beginning and the end of his statement. He does, however, discuss his position on this legislation during the American Association for People with Disabilities' Presidential Forum. We apologize for the longevity of the broadcast to those seeking concise information on this specific issue and hope to obtain a more condensed statement from McCain soon.)

http://player.broadbandvideo.com/VideoPlayer.asp?Station=disaboom&Id=

58702&ShowOrClip=s&MediaType=v&ResizeX=&ResizeY=&CheckPayment= (The American Association of People with Disabilities Presidential Forum)

Senator Obama:

(This very cogent statement by Senator Obama establishes his positions on significant

civil rights legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act, and the Community Choice Act, which makes it very valuable in accessing his positions on several civil rights issues at once.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pkdfOOoIw0

Senator Obama's plan for addressing disability issues can be found here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/

We strongly encourage listening to the webcast the American Association of People with Disabilities' Presidential Forum for an extensive overview of both candidates' backgrounds in disability rights and their positions on significant disability legislation. 

Attacks:

Because of their relevance to the issues of ableism and ageism, we will also be keeping track of attacks on either candidate or party that use age or disability as a put down. 

Charles Rangel attributes Sarah Palin's popularity to the general conviction that "you have to be kind to the disabled."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvovJ1Q-Ogg

Salon Magazine implies that Sarah Palin was irresponsible to have her youngest child because of his disability and should have aborted him based on that information:

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/09/10/palin_feminism/

Joe Biden equivocates support for disabled people with support for embryonic stem cell research, makes political point about GOP and special needs children:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZKApMNxtDI

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada publicly worries that Palin's example may Reduce eugenic abortions:

http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/labels/Sarah%20Palin.%20Trig%

20Palin.%20%20Eugenic%20Abortion.%20Human%20Exceptionalism..html

Obama Campaign responds to Gianna Jessen add by ignoring her status as an independent voice in the IBAPA debate, that is, someone who is not associated with either campaign but is working to address a specific issue, by asserting that her add was produced by the McCain campaign: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEBDNGLl5TQ 

NBC-run add, paid for by Brave New PAC and Democracy for America, argues that McCain is not fit to be President because he has had melanoma:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHvJPGnkQxE

IBAPA Controversy:

Please Note: Because of the divisive nature of abortion, SAFE haschosen to take a neutral stance in regard to this issue, except in discussing how abortion impacts the disabled community. We have chosen to include the information below because we feel it has a direct relationship to how individuals with disabilities are regarded in the eyes of the law, in the eyes of the medical establishment, and in the eyes of various activist organizations associated with issues surrounding the Illinois 2003 IBAPA. 

At the time this bill was presented, Barack Obama was a member of the Illinois legislature and chaired its Health and Human Services Committee. The information presented below relates to conflicting stories between Barack Obama and the National Right to Life Committee in regard to Obama's vote on the Illinois version of IBAPA. Obama has previously stated that he voted against the Illinois version of IBAPA because it lacked a neutrality clause protecting Roe v. Wade, and that he would have voted for the federal bill of 2002, which contained such a clause. New information, however, indicates that while Obama did oversee the addition of this amendment in 2003, he voted against the bill after this amendment had been adopted. Thus, the current controversy swirls around if and why Obama voted against this bill even after protections for Roe v. Wade had been added. Obama's opposition was joined by some of his colleagues, the ACLU, and the Illinois Medical Association, although SAFE is still attempting to determine whether the two latter parties spoke out against this bill before or after the neutrality clause had been added. 

Furthermore, we realize that the National Right to Life, being an anti-abortion organization, has interests in presenting the information below. Nevertheless, like our pro-choice allies, the National Right to Life Committee has taken an active role in opposing futile care laws and the equal standing of disabled people in regard to the law. Thus, we feel that the NRLC, being a dependable ally of the handicapped, is a legitimate source from which to obtain this information. 

We also wish to estabish our position that IBAPA is not an abortion law, but a law pertaining to medical care of infants who have left the womb, thus making it inapplicable to the abortion debate as being between a woman's right to control her body and a fetus's right to live. Rather, we believe that this relates strictly to ensuring that all infants in need of medical attention receive it, regardless of the circumstances under which they were born. 

We are also doing independent research on what transpired in the Illinois Senate in relation to this bill, and we will be updating this story as we are able to obtain additional information.

We also wish to state that our inclusion of this issue on our website is not meant to make any statement in regard to Barack Obama's presidential campaign or his stance on other disability-rights issues. Indeed, we agree wholeheartedly with Senator Obama's position that IDEA needs to be fully funded and job accessibility improved in order to ensure the rights of people with disabilities.

We are equally supportive of similar statements John McCain has made in regard to the government's responsibility to fund IDEA and provide support to disabled people and their families. SAFE has chosen not to endorse a candidate for President or comment on other significant issues related to this election, as we are diverse in our political leanings and believe it is important for people of all political persuasions to work for the rights of people with disabilities, a subject we can agree on. 

IBAPA: Current News

 Hannity and Colmes Debate/Interview(s) on IBAPA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNbp2-Tm9z4&feature=related (4/8/08)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbEajxNPCw8&feature=related (8/19/08)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgLBIHrNLrw&feature=related (8/20/08)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V36aGq_p-I (8/21/08)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuuV6j_s5bY (8/21/08)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uYDxZlRqx4 (9/15/08)

www.bornalivetruth.org ad about Obama and IBAPA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMwDq73gbm4

Obama online response to BAT ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEBDNGLl5TQ * *

CNN Coverage Debate/Interview(s) on IBAPA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPZCXcTwZPY&feature=related (6/30/08)

CBN Coverage on IBAPA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCH-jwJk6MI&feature=related (8/20/08)

IBAPA legislative meeting, 2003, Obama Commentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypDwNpgIUQc

Record of Voting action in regard to the 2003 IBAPA: 

http://www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/ObamaKills2003amendedBAIPA.htm

Text of the Original IBAPA Bill

http://www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/SB1082asintroduced.pdf

Amendment Added to the IBAPA Bill in 2003:

http://www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/SenateAmdt1toSB1082.pdf

Comparison of the final 2003 IBAPA Bill and the 2002 federal IBAPA: http://www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/2003AmendedILBAIPAandFedBAIPA.html

President Bush Speech on Federal IBAPA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mmi-Ul4iqo

Other News

SAFE Announces Purple Day

October 1st, 2008 will be SAFE's first sponsored "Purple Day." On this day, we and other disability allies will be wearing purple to indicate our mutual commitment to disability rights, regardless of whether our political persuasions make us red or blue. 

Mother who Drowned Disabled Daughter in Bathtub Found Guilty of Murder

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/sep/24/1

China Hides 7-Year-Old Singer, Says another 

child lip sync-ing is in its 'National Interest':

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/08/12/

olympic_opening_uses_girls_voice_not_face/

Stroke Victim who Chose to Continue Nutrition and Hydration in Danger of being Declared Incompetent:

http://www.prayforkaren.com/