Health Wanted: Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Episode

The topic: Disability has always existed, but ensuring equal rights for people with disabilities has not. This week on Health Wanted, host Laurel Bristow and guest James LeBrecht review the history of the disability rights movement and the importance of continuing to advocate for equality.

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The takeaway: The fight for disability rights has a long history, culminating in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. On the act’s 35th anniversary, activists and allies are still advocating for people with disabilities’ right to live independent and healthy lives.

• Disability has existed for as long as humans have. Archaeological evidence—such as skeletons with signs of paralysis and congenital conditions—shows that some ancient communities cared for people with disabilities who lived longer than they could have without support. But discrimination also dates back to ancient times. In ancient Greece and Rome, infanticide was common for children with physical differences.
• In the 1800s, institutions for the disabled became widespread. While originally intended as places of education and support, rising populations in the U.S. led to overcrowding and decreased quality of life and education for residents. Residents were often treated inhumanely, and as the general population had less interaction with them, stigma grew.
• By the mid-1900s, efforts towards disability rights began to build, driven by a combination of presidential attention, legislative efforts, civil rights activism, and the persistent advocacy of people with disabilities and their allies. Although its enforcement was limited, Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was a major landmark in the campaign for disability rights, banning federally funded institutions from discrimination based on disability.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act was introduced in 1988 but took years of advocacy to pass. When it did, it signaled a culture shift: Society shouldn’t try to “cure” disability but ensure disabled people have the same rights and opportunities to live independently as everyone else.

The Interview

The guest: James LeBrecht

The key takeaways:

• Recent legislative changes are eroding decades of progress in disability rights work. In particular, financial cuts to the Department of Education threaten schools’ ability to employ staff who support students with disabilities. Likewise, reductions in Medicaid and Medicare funding endanger the ability of many to live in their own homes and function independently.
• In a time when changes in federal funding threaten the lives and livelihoods of many people with disabilities, remaining connected as a community and organized as disability rights advocates is more important than ever. Organizations like the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund offer ways for people to get involved and support advocacy efforts.
• Highlighting media featuring and produced by people with disabilities is essential for growing understanding in nondisabled audiences. Representation not only matters for visibility but is also a powerful way for people with disabilities to tell their stories and share their lived experiences with the public.

The Listener Questions 

Are “uncured” hot dogs better for your health?

Nitrates and nitrites are used for flavor and preservation so that hot dogs don’t develop bacterial growth. The term “cured” versus “uncured” refers to whether the product has artificial or natural preservatives in it. 

Cured hot dogs use artificial nitrates and nitrites for these purposes, but uncured hot dogs use natural alternatives like celery juice, which already contain nitrates and nitrites.

The next time you see a package of uncured hot dogs, take note of the language. They usually say “no added nitrates or nitrites,” which sounds good until you realize that nitrates and nitrites already naturally occur in the celery juice.

You can buy uncured hot dogs if you’re someone who prefers natural ingredients over “synthetic” ones, but keep in mind that there is no guarantee that the celery is organic, and it doesn’t mean that those hot dogs have a lower cancer risk.
Either way, hot dogs have a lot of sodium, which is not good for your health.

Whether it has natural or synthetic preservatives, processed meat is still processed meat.

Does Nipah virus have the potential to become a pandemic?

Nipah is a viral infection that can be spread in many ways. It can spread from bats to people, from pigs to bats, and from person to person.

The reservoir for the virus is fruit bats, also known as “flying foxes.” They can be found in many places, including India, Thailand, Laos, and down to Australia. However, there have only been outbreaks of Nipah recorded in a few places like India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.

Transmission happens when a person comes into contact with the fluids or secretions of infected bats or pigs, but can also occur if a person consumes food (like fruit or tree sap) that’s been contaminated with infected bat droppings or urine.

Person-to-person transmission can happen when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s fluids. From the outbreaks we’ve seen in the past, there is a high case fatality rate of about 40-70%.

However, even though there are outbreaks every year in Bangladesh that correspond to the region’s seasonal palm date sap harvest, there have only been about 341 cases in the region since 2001. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s still concerning because there’s no treatment or vaccine, and the virus has a high potential for severe outcomes.

Recently, the UK released a pathogens guideline listing pathogens the government felt had high potential for pandemics or epidemics, and Nipah was on the list.

However, there has been some pushback on this document because it didn’t include any methodology or references, so some people would like clarity about why they ranked things the way they did.

Nipah requires close contact to spread, like Ebola or mpox. It’s a serious disease, but part of what makes something have pandemic potential is how easily it spreads. 

Nipah is important to pay attention to, but it is probably not the most likely option for the next potential pandemic.

Catch all the listener questions and Laurel’s answers on the full episode of Health Wanted by:

• Streaming at wabe.org or the WABE app
• Subscribing on Apple or Spotify
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