4/21/26 - A bill, a death, and a webinar

Hi there!

Today we have a couple more worrying and disturbing stories emblematic of our times ... and what looks like an interesting, maybe fun online event about disabled sports.

Don't forget to scroll down further once in a while to see what action items are there to act on. They don't change too often. But I do check for new ones to rotate in every few weeks. Near the bottom of the newsletter, you will also find a running tally of the number of free and paid subscribers to Disability Thinking Weekday. It's growing slowly but pretty steadily.

Now on to today's links!

What the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Means for Medicaid and Disabled People

Day Al-Mohamed, Global Disability News Network - April 12, 2026

"Supporters of OBBBA describe it as a program to remove fraud, waste, and abuse; a way to increase the integrity of government programs and ensure only those “deserving” receive them. However, as passed, the legislation is more likely to cause eligible people, especially those with disabilities, to lose access to healthcare. What is also terrible is that if they are denied or disenrolled due to work requirements, they are also ineligible for the subsidized Marketplace coverage."

This is an outstanding overview of Medicaid, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," and how it will affect people with disabilities in the US. It's something that lots of people, organizations, and publications have been writing about, and worrying. But this is the most calmly informational and passionate explanation of the whole issue I have seen so far. Anyone who wants to know what the issue is – beyond the fact that it's another hated Trump administration policy – should find this article a good place to start.

Death of refugee left in parking lot by Border Patrol ruled a homicide

Joanna Slater and Evan Hill, Washington Post - April 2, 2026

"The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office said Wednesday that the manner of Shah Alam’s death was homicide. The term means that the death resulted from the act of another person, the office said, which can include negligence and doesn’t imply intent to harm or indicate criminality ... The cause of death was complications from a perforated intestinal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration, the office said ... The autopsy results sparked fresh calls to investigate the circumstances surrounding Shah Alam’s death, which provoked outrage in Buffalo."

This is a followup to a story from earlier this year. What caught my eye was the determination of homicide – meaning that Shah Alam died in some way because of the actions of others. Sometimes it sounds like exaggeration when disabled people say that certain new budget decisions, policies, or practices will "kill disabled people." But disabled people really do die as a direct or indirect result of all sorts of individual actions, or shifts in priorities and attention. It may not be thousands of disabled or chronically ill people who die, as actually happened during the COVID pandemic – or could happen from budget cuts like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, (see above). But it matters just as much in a different way when it's a handful of people who die horribly from cruel neglect and indifference, like this situation, or from any of the many deaths of disabled people from police violence, whatever the reason or motivation. When we say something is threatening our lives, believe us. We know what we are talking about.

Webinar: National Adaptive Sport Day

Move United - April 16, 2026

"#NationalAdaptiveSportDay advances inclusion in sport while highlighting the power and purpose of the disability community."

I am sharing a link to this webinar in my ongoing effort to include webinars and other disability-related online events in this newsletter. My own interest in adaptive sports strictly as a spectator. But I know a few disabled people who thrive in adaptive sports, and consider it one of the mainstays of their lives as disabled people. Plus, it's one of the aspects of disability culture that is most accessible, so to speak, to non-disabled people.

Disability Thinking Weekday is a Monday-Friday newsletter with links and commentary on disability-related articles and other content. You can help promote Disability Thinking Weekday by forwarding it by email or posting on your social media. You can also comment by sending me an email at: apulrang@icloud.com. Collected comments are shared on the first of each month. A free subscription sends a newsletter to your email each weekday. Benefits of paid subscription include:

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