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Fran Pavley, California State Senator, Introduces Bill To Strip The Word 'Retarded' From State Laws
The Huffington Post  |  By Melissa Jeltsen
Posted: 03/ 7/2012 6:51 pm Updated: 03/ 7/2012 7:26 pm


State Senator Fran Pavley, April 25, 2009. (Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images)
A state legislator introduced a bill to remove the word "retarded" from California's law books on Wednesday, calling the word outdated and demeaning.

State Senator Fran Pavley's legislation would replace all references of mental retardation with the more accepted term "intellectual disability."

Many advocacy groups have already condemned the word. The National Down Syndrome Society states: "People with disabilities, like all people, deserve to be treated as valued citizens and not referred to in a hurtful manner for any purpose. Using the 'R word' is hurtful and suggests that people with disabilities are not competent."

Medical professionals agree.

Doctor Brian Skotko, medical geneticist in the Down Syndrome program at Children's Hospital Boston, hailed Pavley's legislation, and said getting rid of the word gives people with intellectual disabilities the respect that they deserve.................................>>>>...............................>>>>.........................http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/fran-pavley-california-st_n_1328001.html

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"People with disabilities, like all people, deserve to be treated as valued citizens

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Published: Sept. 8, 2011 at 4:51 PM


PALM BEACH, Fla., Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A Florida couple is suing a Palm Beach Gardens obstetrician for not properly warning them that their unborn child would have severe physical disabilities.

A jury deliberated Thursday whether to order Dr. Marie Morel to pay $9 million to Ana Mejia and Rodolfo Santana to cover the cost of caring for their son, who was born in 2008 with no arms and one leg. The couple claim they would have aborted their son, Bryan, had they known about his disabilities, The Palm Beach Post reported.

The couple alleges Morel and technicians failed to properly administer ultrasounds that would have detected the disabilities.

An attorney for the doctor said the couple rejected amniocentesis, which might have revealed the abnormalities, the newspaper said.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US.....15105/#ixzz1oaDC4Isg