Disability rights groups are fighting for abortion access — and against ableism
The conversation about abortion and other reproductive health care in the country is missing something: people with disabilities.
The conversation about abortion and other reproductive health care in the country is missing something: people with disabilities.
Since it became clear the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade, disability rights advocates say the uproar over allowing states to ban or restrict abortion has largely overlooked the ways people with disabilities will suffer. At least 12.7% of the U.S. population lives with disabilities — including from speech and limb differences, mobile disabilities and developmental disabilities — as of 2019, according to census data.
“I think one of the reasons that disabled people are not centered in these conversations, even though we should be, is that typically disabled people are de-sexualized,” said Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD). “We are not seen as sexual beings. In fact, the assumption is that we just don’t have sex when, in reality, disabled people do have sex. We need and deserve accessible, affordable reproductive and informed reproductive health care, and that includes abortion.”
Even after years of highlighting the longstanding lack of access to reproductive care, people with disabilities are still less likely to have health care providers and routine check-ups, and are more likely to have unmet health care needs because of the cost, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Access to reproductive services is even slimmer.
“You may need an additional support person for physical access or to provide mental health support,” said Town, who has cerebral palsy and uses mobility devices. “For states that have banned abortion and people are talking about needing to travel out of state or use telehealth services, many telehealth platforms are not accessible to people with disabilities. These are all barriers to health care. Accessibility of reproductive health care can be a huge challenge.”
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