Gregory Mansfield

Limited or partial access for disabled people is not access.
It is exclusion.

“You don’t need your wheelchair. We have wheelchairs.”

Note to airline carriers, terminals, transportation providers, hospitals, medical providers and all others who need to hear this:

Wheelchairs are not interchangeable.

Wheelchairs are not one size fits all.

It is a sad commentary on our ableist society that, these days, the only access for disabled people that is prioritized is access for disabled people to die; assisted suicide and medical assistance in dying.

Nondisabled people should not be the arbiter of access for disabled people.

Trump’s Answer to Homelessness? Lock Up Unhoused and Disabled People. New coalitions are forming to protect those targeted by Trump’s move to institutionalize unhoused people.

Tru*mp’s Answer to Homelessness? Lock Up Unhoused and Disabled People. truthout.org/articles/tru...

Q&A: Why physicians struggle to care for patients with disability STAT spoke with researcher Carol Haywood about her new study that looked at the persistent ableism in medicine and its root causes.

Q&A: Why physicians struggle to care for patients with disability www.statnews.com/2025/01/16/a... via @statnews.com

It is coercive for disabled people to be asked over and over again: “Do you want a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Order?”

Nondisabled people are asked once.
Disabled people are asked repeatedly.

It is devaluation.
It is ableism.

Medical assistance in dying is not a medical treatment.
It is the infliction of death.

The fact that disabled people face challenges does not mean that disabled people are a burden.

The point is not that everyone is going to die sometime.
The point is that no one should die because their health benefits have been terminated.

Ableist language is not harmless.
It is a lack of empathy, the attribution of inferiority and expression of cruelty.

He Died Without Getting Mental Health Care He Sought. A New Lawsuit Says His Insurer’s Ghost Network Is to Blame. - ProPublica

How can we facilitate the death of disabled people when we have a government and a society that does not facilitate life for disabled people?

For far too long, nondisabled people have defined access, accommodation and equity for disabled people.

Ableism is not just a belief.
It is a weapon of destruction targeting the lives of disabled people.

Access for disabled people is not an advantage.
It is an equalizer.

HHS firings undermine federal government's ability to care for vulnerable Americans Layoffs across health agencies could disrupt the flow of millions of dollars in grants and critical services for Americans with disabilities.

HHS firings undermine federal government’s ability to care for vulnerable Americans and put disabled people at risk www.statnews.com/2025/04/01/h... via @statnews.com

Opinion | For God’s Sake, Fellow Lawyers, Stand Up to Trump If law firms won’t defend the rule of law, who will?

If you were a prospective client, would you rather hire a law firm that is willing to fight to defend you from clearly lawless action, or one that sells out your interests out of fear and greed?

Disabled people are more than 25% of the population.
It is a cruel blow when government tries to disappear 1 out of 4 people who have disabilities.

The lack of access for disabled people is not accidental or inadvertent.
It is a choice.
A knowing choice to exclude disabled people.

The government “guidance” to make the word “disability” disappear is not just semantic.
It is the precursor to making disabled people disappear.

Then eight-year-old Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins crawling up the stairs with a group of activists

Another view of the crowd in various locations on the stairs, some being assisted by other people

35 years ago 1000 people marched from the White House to the Capitol to demand Congress pass the ADA. Activists left their mobility devices & crawled up the Capitol steps in protest of inaccessible architecture. The ADA was signed into law 4 months later. I honor them today ♿️✊🏽

I’m disabled. I’m terrified about what Medicaid cuts could mean for my life Medicaid cuts could force disabled people out of the public sphere and into nursing homes. People like me.

I’m disabled. I’m terrified about what Medicaid cuts could mean for my life www.statnews.com/2025/03/03/m... via @statnews.com

Others should not be telling disabled people what it means to live with dignity.

'Utterly terrifying:' Disability advocates fear rollback of DEI under Trump, Braun The disability community fought for inclusion in corporate and government DEI efforts. Now they're worried they'll be on the chopping block.

For years, #disability communities have fought for inclusion alongside other historically underresourced constituencies in corporate & government #DEI efforts. #Disabled advocates fear progress in #employment, #education & #independence will suffer in sweeping cuts.
www.indystar.com/story/news/p...

When others control access for disabled people, they control every aspect of a disabled person’s life.
It is the control of opportunity, freedom and humanity.

Inaccessibility is not caused by disability.
Inaccessibility is caused by ableism, barriers and exclusion.

Hospital staff: “Can you park your wheelchair in the corner so you’re not in the way.”
One way or another, disabled people are assumed to be “in the way.”

When you call disabled people a burden, you assign inferiority and unworthiness to the lives of disabled people.

Rest in peace, Roy Ayers.