Disability Stories You May Have Missed

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Last Updated: August 6, 2026

Tags: Education, Eugenics, Government, News You Might Have Missed, Politics

 

An image of the Texas Capitol Building

Texas feels like the epicenter of so much disability policy/Kim Broomhall via Pixabay

This week’s newsgathering includes the continuous battle against  Medicaid cuts throughout the country and how states are seeing the effects of this alarming policy shift, advocates continuing to ask Texas to drop out of a lawsuit that threatens disability rights, and a film about Judith (Judy) Heumann being introduced as the kick off to this year’s Toronto Film Festival.

Looming Medicaid cuts put care for people with disabilities at risk

Gabe Gutierrez, NBC

This video, part of an NBC series about Medicaid cuts called “The Cost of Denial”,  shows how people like Alexia Flory are at risk due to these cuts. The services she receives that are under threat are two home health aides and a  paid salary for her mom to stay home to assist her. Medicaid would mean she wouldn’t qualify for her home health aides. The family may now have to dig into their 401K and sell their homes in order to afford her care. What’s most valuable about this story is listening to Flory in her own words.

From the Story: “I lose my life if these services  go away.” — Alexia Flory

Disability rights advocates rally at Texas Capitol, urge state to drop out of lawsuit

Daniel Perreault , KVUE (ABC)

This piece tells the story of how  advocates gathered at the Texas State Capitol against a lawsuit that seeks to undo disability rights. The lawsuit was led by Texas Attorney General (and Republican senatorial candidate) Ken Paxton in an attempt to remove gender dysphoria from the definition of disability in the  Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and to broadly undermine the legislation. The suit could upend multiple legal precedents protecting Disabled people. At the beginning of the lawsuit in 2024, 17 states backed the lawsuit and  it’s now down to three. It started with Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Now  it’s down to Alaska, Florida, and Texas.\

The states who dropped out of the lawsuit did so after intense pressure from disability advocates. 

From the Story: “504 is at the base of my liberty, my rights as a person with disabilities.” —Ron Cranston, advocate

‘Being Heumann,’ about a disability rights activist, to open Toronto film festival

Associated Press 

This article is about a film focused on Judith (Judy) Heumann called “Being Heumann”, which is based on a memoir of the same title. The film will be introduced at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), kicking off the festival that starts September 10th and runs through the 20th. The film is directed by Siân Heder, whose previous work includes CODA. Many disability advocates see the film’s inclusion as a major step in disability representation at large-scale events like TIFF.

From the story: “We’re thrilled to open this year’s Festival with Siân Heder’s inspiring follow-up to her Oscar winning ‘CODA.” — Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF

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