10/8/26 - A slipperier slope, and another odd sort of NDEAM

Hello!

I put a lot of feeling into my notes on today's links. I felt a lot of things while writing them. I'm not sure how that comes out in the notes themselves. But the articles speak pretty effectively for themselves anyway.

Severely disabled toddler euthanized in the Netherlands under new rules on the controversial practice

Inaya Folarin Iman, CBS News - September 29, 2026

"A severely disabled 1-year-old child has been euthanized by doctors in the Netherlands, a government review board has confirmed. It is the first case reported by authorities that was guided by new rules allowing for the termination of life of seriously ill children between the ages of 1 and 12 in the European nation."

Supporters of "assisted suicide" or "euthanasia," or "medical aid in dying," or whatever it's called often accuse those of us who oppose it of making an invalid "slippery slope" argument. They insist that allowing terminally ill people with just a month or two to live in terrible pain to end their lives if they want to does not put disabled people at risk of some sort of coerced suicide, or outright killing decided by others. I sort of see their point, at least in the abstract. Any argument where life and death fear is involved can devolve into panic and irrationality. And insisting that "allowing A will inevitably lead to B and the C" tends to at least sound irrational. But this story is only the latest to show that assisted suicide is in fact a very slippery slope. And many parts of the world where it is legal now are well on their way down. The case was brought to my attention by Rae Hower, a reader of this newsletter and a Ph.D. student studying disability issues.

I try to use my personal experience to inform how I understand disability issues, while keeping my personal feelings at arm's length. But when I read the story Rae emailed me about, I was horrified. I put myself in that toddler's position. I was in that toddler's position. I was born with a bundle of disabilities. True, they weren't as "severe" as they are reported to have been for the Dutch baby. Still, doctors couldn't figure out right away what my "outcomes" would be. Some of their predictions were quite dire. Others less so. Thankfully, my parents were persistent about finding answers, and had the resources to do so. But have to say that I don't think they were starry-eyed optimists. They weren't the sort of people to grandly declare that all the doctors had to be wrong, and that they knew I would grow up to be happy, healthy, and successful. My father was a pediatrician who was by nature cautious and sober about all things medical. My mother was more contrarian, and seemed to be "on my side" from the start. But she, too, was kind of a realist, and even at times a pessimist. Mom and Dad were both great. But they weren't heroes from an inspirational made-for-TV movie. If "euthanasia" had been legal or more regularly overlooked at the time, I believe I could have suffered the same fate as that child in the Netherlands. It's mainly a combination of luck and privilege that determined I would not.

But the slope now feels thoroughly iced, It's terrifying, and heartbreaking.

It's the start of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)

American Association of People with Disabilities - October 1, 2026

"Disabled people are much more likely to be unemployed or underemployed compared to our non-disabled peers. According to the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and Job Accommodation Network (JAN) ... Workers with disabilities are only 39.8% of the working-aged population and ... Workers with disabilities are nearly twice as likely to be unemployedcompared to non-disabled people ... 61% of employers reporting costs said their accommodations cost nothing ... 85% of employers making accommodations reported better employee retention."

Trump rolls back federal hiring rules. Are disabled workers at risk?

Jessica Guynn and Jayme Fraser, USA Today - September 29, 2026

"A sweeping regulatory overhaul launched by President Donald Trump's administration has eliminated disability hiring targets for federal contractors, rolling back longstanding guidelines designed to boost hiring among people with disabilities like Deal."

National Disability Employment Awareness Month, or NDEAM for short, has never been one of my favorite items on the calendar of disability activism and culture. For one thing, "Employment" as always seemed to me like a shifting priority for the disability community. Sometimes it seems like the highest priority of all – the key to almost everything else we need and aspire to. Other times it feels like more of an individual goal, not something that every disabled person sees as important. And there's always a lingering feeling, especially around NDEAM in October, that "Employment Awareness" is a goal crafted mainly for non-disabled people's edification, and weirdly detached form most actual disabled people's lives.

On the other hand, rates of unemployment for disabled people are still shocking pretty much everywhere. And it's not all because of weak economies or disabled people's lack of education, skills, experience, or motivation. There are systemic barriers involved, including discrimination and lack of "awareness" on the part of employers – and sometimes in ourselves. So there is definitely a real purpose and use for a National Disability Employment Awareness Month, at least here in the U.S.

The problem now is that it's harder than ever to take NDEAMs seriously when the thing promoting it – the U.S. federal government, is officially against anything that encourages focus on any group of Americans for any of their unique needs and disadvantages. And it's almost impossible to get excited about the government encouraging employers to hire more disabled people when the government itself has been ordered to stop trying to hire disabled people. I suppose most of the rest of us are free to "raise awareness" as we see fit – including about how and why more disabled people should have better employment opportunities.

Maybe that's why we're a week into National Disability Employment Awareness Month before I've bothered to mention it in this newsletter.

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