Seventeen states are suing the United States government to repeal Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This foundational law protects people with disabilities from discrimination by federal agencies, and by schools, hospitals, doctors’ offices and other entities that receive federal funding or accept Medicare. A precursor to the ADA, Section 504 provides the bedrock of disability civil rights.
The lawsuit is positioned as a response to language added in 2024 about gender dysphoria, but at the end of the filing, the states ask that the entire rule be declared unconstitutional. If this happens, the disability community would lose important 2024 updates to the rule that:
• Prohibit discrimination in medical treatment based on stereotypes about quality of life, judgments that an individual will be a burden on others, or beliefs that the life of an individual with a disability has less value than the life of a person without a disability. These include, for example, decisions about life-sustaining treatment, organ transplantation, and rationing care in emergencies.
• Adopt the U.S. Access Board’s accessibility standards for medical equipment to address barriers to care, requiring most doctors’ offices to have an accessible exam table and weight scale within two years.
• Improve the 50-year-old law in other key ways.
Disability organizations, including United Spinal Association, are mobilizing for the fight. Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund explains how you can take action if you live in one of the states suing the federal government.
New Mobility is collecting your stories to express how important Section 504 is in maintaining our legal rights to educational opportunity, accessible healthcare and community inclusion. The repeal or erosion of 504 could set a precedent that reverses decades of civil rights gains.
What would your life be like without Section 504? Please comment below or send your story to tsherer@unitedspinal.org.
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