An RBG Opinion Our Supreme Court Nominee Can Uphold

Nominee for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, and I likely have many divergent views about judicial review of the Constitution and the laws of the United States. However, one thing we share in common is being mothers of children with Down syndrome. And that gives me hope that she will uphold the ruling of "choice" in the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Olmstead vs. L.C. -- the most important civil rights decision for people with disabilities in our country's history.

In Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg's opinion attached to the Court’s landmark ruling in Olmstead:

“Each disabled person is entitled to treatment in the most integrated setting possible for that person – recognizing that, on a case-by-case basis, that setting may be in an institution.”

- Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581, 605 (1999)(quoting Brief of VOR et al., as Amici Curiae at 11)

According to VOR, a national non-profit organization that advocates for high quality care and human rights for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the Olmstead decision is often misrepresented as an ‘integration mandate,’ but that’s not true -- Justice Ginsburg declared Olmstead a mandate for choice.

It is my hope that if Judge Amy Coney Barret is confirmed for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, her unique perspective as the parent of a child with a developmental disability will afford her the wisdom to uphold choice and recognize that for many people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) intentional communities are the most-integrated setting possible. For families like ours, who have children with I/DD and serious behaviors, intentional communities are forever homes where our adult children can live safely, have appropriate care and support and engage in life-long learning well after their parents are gone.