#savemedicaid

Disability advocates arrested during health care protest at McConnell’s office. Thank you for risking your lives #cripplepunk

50+ arrests and counting

Dear friends,

At the start of last week, things were looking uncertain. Once again, the Senate was considering a bill that would repeal the Affordable Care act, gut Medicaid funding, and take health insurance away from millions of people. They claimed they had enough votes to rush the bill through. We didn’t know what to expect. All we could do was keep advocating here in DC, and make sure you had the tools to advocate at home – the rest was up to you.

Once again, the disability community showed up. ADAPT led a massive protest on Monday, putting their bodies on the line to fight for everyone’s right to health care. Grassroots advocates led rallies across the country. And you spoke up – by calling and emailing your Members of Congress, going to town halls and protests, and sharing your stories. You did not let your elected officials ignore what this bill would do to our communities. And because you forced them to face the facts, we won. All year long, Congress has been using a legislative trick called reconciliation to try and repeal the ACA without the normal number of votes. But the trick has a time limit, and as of October 1st, they are out of time. Thanks to you, we ran the clock out. Thanks to you, millions of people will continue to have health care. Thanks to you, we won.

Thank you.

A lot of our resources at ASAN have gone into fighting this crucial battle over the last 9 months. Together with our grassroots and the broader disability community, we’ve faced the threat of ACA repeal three times – and every time, we’ve won. We’re ready to do it all over again, but we need your help. If you are able, please consider making a donation to support ASAN’s advocacy work. Your support makes it possible for us to:

Defend the disability community against attacks here in Washington

Develop plain language and Easy Read advocacy toolkits

Coordinate accessible phone banks, postcard campaigns, and more

Work to make policy advocacy inclusive and accessible for all self-advocates

Thank you so much for your dedication and determination. There will be more hard fights in the months ahead; Congress is already trying to undermine the ADA, and we expect more threats to people with disabilities during the upcoming debates on the federal budget. So get ready to defend our rights again–but do not forget this moment. This victory shows that when we stand together and raise our voice, we win.

In solidarity,

“Who Wants to Get Arrested?!?”

I’ve seen Bruce Darling open presentations about direct action with the words “Who wants to get arrested?!?” many times. A number of those times, I watched the horrified but fascinated reactions of a group of autistic college students with an interest in organizing. I thought, watching this, that while my heart said “yes, let’s do this, I can do this” that I wouldn’t be in much of a place to…

Found on Facebook: 

Hey everyone, tomorrow there is going to be a national movement from 11-11:45am for people to show their support for U.S. Senator Bob Casey's opposition of TrumpCare, specifically the provision that would severely cut Medicaid. Medicaid is an incredibly important healthcare service for people with disabilities, and the block-grant program that is being proposed would likely mean less funds at a state level, which would in turn mean cut services.

Please consider posting a status on your Facebook tomorrow during the time frame 11-11:45 about what Medicaid means to you. Do you know anyone who has a disability? Chances are, they are using it. Have you thought about the fact that any able-bodied person can become disabled at any moment and would then be dependent on programs such as this? Do you believe that everyone should have access to programs that help them live and be healthy and contribute to society?

I would like to try and collect screenshots of statuses people post tomorrow during this time and compile them into a blog post, along with an email I will be sending to local and federal Iowa representatives and senators. If you would like your status included in this email, please let me know!