FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(November 29, 2022)
Berkeley, Calif. – Today a coalition of disability organizations led by Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) called on the state of California to do more to make its high-profile abortion portal accessible and relevant to disabled Californians. The group made its demands by letter to Governor Newsom and Secretary of Health and Human Services Mark Ghaly, M.D.
The portal was rolled out in September 2022 to provide essential information about abortion to patients in and out of California. Today’s letter praised aspects of the site but explained that the portal is not fully accessible to people with disabilities and does not include important information for disabled people seeking abortion.
“We applaud the state’s achievement in launching the abortion portal,” said Claudia Center, Legal Director for DREDF. “But in several critical areas, the California abortion portal falls short for people with disabilities. The portal is the gateway to the exercise of a fundamental right, and the disability community must be fully included.”
The letter details barriers to blind people using screen readers who seek to access the portal, including the linked partner sites. Further, there are no “plain language” or video versions of information. These are critical for people with intellectual disabilities. There is no information about disability rights in seeking abortion care, such as the right to access captions or sign language in telehealth, to receive alternative formats of documents, or to be accompanied by a support person.
The portal offers directory information connecting patients to abortion providers, but the search results include no information about whether the matched provider has an accessible office or exam table or has been trained in serving people with disabilities. “We know that people will be traveling from out of state to California to access abortion,” said DREDF Senior Staff Attorney Silvia Yee. “Patients with disabilities must have equal access to care once they arrive.”
The letter requests a series of changes and community consultations to improve the site.
Media Contact:
Claudia Center
Legal Director
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
415-531-2874
ccenter@dredf.org