Disability & Trans News - March 7, 2026
Editor's Note: The disability community is increasingly preferring to use identity-first language (disabled person) in place of person-first language (person with a disability). This is because many in the community view disability as being a core component of identity, much like race and gender. Some members of the community, such as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, still prefer person-first language. Both should be considered valid. Articles shared in this newsletter may contain one or the other (or both) depending on the author's preference, and if they themselves have a disability.
The War on Trans Folks Is Disabling by Meier Galblum Haigh on March 3, 2026 at the Disability Culture Lab
"Stress from discrimination leads to shorter life spans and worse health outcomes, from impacts on the heart to cancers to the immune system. Science points to inflammation in the body from chronic stress as a potential cause. All types of discrimination aren’t equal; intergenerational trauma leads to more disabling outcomes than just one lifetime of stress, due in part to prenatal trauma, and research points to multi-marginalized folks facing compounded health impacts from overlapping oppression and the resulting stress."
RFK Jr. vowed to restore public trust in health. It's not working, a new survey suggests. by Erika Edwards on March 5, 2026 at NBC News
"However, trust in public health agencies has fallen in Trump’s second term, according to the survey. Confidence in the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health hovered around 75% during the Biden administration. Since Trump’s second term began, trust in the agencies has dropped to just over 60%."
New England Cherishes Its Local Elections. Many Disabled Voters Are Locked Out. by Julia Métraux on March 2, 2026 at Mother Jones
"Town meeting days are a New England tradition, most prevalent in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, as well as some towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut. They predate all disability civil rights laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act—which can be painfully clear to disabled people, who face a wide range of often prohibitive access issues when trying to participate, from inaccessible buildings to unsustainably long meetings."
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