Jesus as Adaptive Equipment?

I heard the phrase, 'just a crutch', used in a song this morning, and I cringed.

I do not like the phrase 'just a crutch'. A crutch is a good thing! Literally speaking, without crutches, people who have difficulty walking would be left crawling on the ground or left to sit on the sidelines. 'Just a crutch' is yet another term that tempts those with physical disabilities to feel different than others, prejudged, and overlooked.

Spiritually speaking, I feel offended by that term, as it is used to describe everything from religion to addictions, etc, in criticism that those who depend on things like that should instead pull themselves up by their bootstraps and stand on their own, in endorsement of that wonderful ideology of self-sufficiency. However, those of us who utilize 'crutches' such as the above do so because we can't stand on our own. We need something to help us walk. We just need to learn to use the right kind of crutch.

The crutch of religion or addiction must be laid down, not so we can because more self-reliant but so we can become more dependent on Jesus.

Oh, my goodness, I'm actually going to say it- Jesus is my crutch, my walker, my wheelchair, and my gurney. Ah, that's too cheesy to post. :-D

Court Denies Bid to Sterilize Woman

From the Chicago Tribune:

Disability rights advocates and medical ethicists praised a precedent-setting
ruling Friday by the Illinois Appellate Court denying a bid to sterilize a
mentally disabled woman against her will...

..."Tubal ligation is a particularly drastic means of preventing a mentally
incompetent ward from becoming pregnant," Judge Joseph Gordon wrote in the
36-page opinion. There are "less intrusive and less psychologically harmful
[birth-control] alternatives."...

..."It's extraordinarily significant" because it guarantees the disabled a
court hearing, said Katie Watson, aNorthwestern University professor who wrote a friend-of-the-court brief in the case on behalf of about two dozen medical ethicists."

"In the past, this was a decision that could be made between a guardian and a
doctor," she said. "The decision must be moved into the light."

The ruling means a guardian must go through some "significant legal hoops"
before a court will order sterilization, said the woman's attorney, John
Whitcomb of Equip for Equality, a disability rights group.

The Christian Institute on DIsability

Officials Want to Overturn State's Group-Home Laws

Yes, it really happens. People with developmental disabilities experience housing discrimination.

Here's what's happening in Cicero, New York.

From Central New York News at syracuse.com:

Cicero Town Councilor Jim Corl and Town Supervisor Chet Dudzinski are calling for the state legislature to repeal a mental hygiene law that requires people with developmental disabilities who want to move into a neighborhood to seek town board approval....

...At the required public hearing, several neighbors of the proposed site objected, saying that having such a group home in their neighborhood would increase traffic, decrease home values and force them to keep a closer eye on their children.

And News 10 Now:

CICERO, N.Y. - Is a thirty-year-old state law discriminating against people with developmental disabilities? The Cicero Town Board thinks so. Their actions come on the heels of strong neighborhood opposition to a brand new neighborhood group home.

It would be along Snowshoe Trail. A home, established by Community Options Incorporated, for three men with developmental disabilities. The deal is as good as done. But not without concern.

"With all the kids around, can we trust these people coming in and out? Nurses, aides, therapists. Everyone is just going to be coming in and out. Increased traffic. It's just, it's not a good placement for this," said Karen Florczykowski, a Showshoe Trail resident.

Some neighbors share her sentiment. And some don't.