This is intended to describe national political issues as they relate to Autistics (Autistics, Asperger's Syndrome, other Spectrum conditions). This is not directly related to activism. For political activism, please go to www.autisticadvocacy.org (Autism Self Advocacy Network or ASAN).Most of this information will be out of date except during election campaigns.
"The Spectrum" generally means the autism Spectrum, including Asperger's syndrome, HFA, PDD, Kanner's autism and other autism spectrum conditions. Many people "on the Spectrum" are comfortable with the generic reference of "autistic" (or "Autistic").
to Autism Self-Advocacy Links (near the bottom of this page)
Abortion and Eugenics
Abortion and the Eugenics of Autism
US Candidates' Positions on Disabilities
- Barack Obama
- The Obama campaign drew up a compilation of the positions of both candidates, found here:
Obama and McCain on Disability Issues
(Google HTML conversion) - This one is easier to read.
The Obama campaign's compilation document is surprisingly "un-polished". Essentially it is a comparative listing of Barack Obama's and John McCain's positions on disabilities, health care, etc., with little or no editorial content. It appears that two teams' efforts were patched together and rendered as a single MS Word document. (The first half are raw position statements; the second half were compiled in a comparison table.) The result is a "raw" document which is easy to read.
The Obama position paper on autism is here: Obama position paper on autism
It appears that all of McCain's statements are contained in the ObamaforAmerica comparison document; however in the interest of fairness, separate links to the McCain positions are listed below.
- John McCain
- Straight Talk on Health System Reform Note near the bottom,
"FACT: Nothing In John McCain's Plan Changes The Fact That If You Are Employed And Insured You Will Build Protection Against The Cost Of Any Pre-Existing Condition."
That may be misstated, but it appears that this only applies if you were already insured when the pre-existing condition was discovered!
- outside comparisons
- olrs.ohio.gov/prescompare.htm - comparison chart from the State of Ohio "Legal Rights Service"
I'm not sure if they got all of the details right, but it's easy enough to check their interpretation with that of the respective candidates' campaigns.- Combating Autism in America - Describes "factors in our environment" and "promote early screening". (Early screening is a concern of those who fear it will lead to eugenics through abortion.)
"As President, John McCain will work to advance federal research into autism, promote early screening, and identify better treatment options, while providing support for children with autism so that they may reach their full potential."So does that mean that he's anti-abortion except when it comes to autism? And why "support for children with autism" and not Autistic adults?
- Canadian Federal Election Disability-Related Issues
- from http://abnormaldiversity.blogspot.com (Ettina)
