The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today about whether vaccine manufacturers should be protected from virtually all product liability lawsuits. At the heart of the case, says the New York Times, is the safety of the vaccines themselves. The case could have implications for hundreds of lawsuits alleging a connection between vaccines and autism. See also the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking of vaccines, Forbes says California is seeing the worst epidemic of whooping cough in almost 60 years, with more than 5,200 people infected and 9 children dead. Some of those deaths almost certainly could have been prevented if autism fears hadn’t kept people from getting vaccinated, says Forbes blogger Steven Salzberg.

Says Salzberg:

It’s not a coincidence that California is the center of the new pertussis epidemic. Vaccination rates among adults in California have been dropping in recent years, large due to the influence of anti-vaccination zealots such as Jenny McCarthy and groups such as Age of Autism.

… Everyone should have their children vaccinated. On top of that, in order to maintain herd immunity, most of us should get the pertussis booster shot if we haven’t had one in the last ten years. That’s what vaccine expert Paul Offit recommends, and I’m planning to follow his advice myself. It won’t take long, and it might save a life.

For couple with Down syndrome, does love conquer all?

Newsweek calls this Tribeca-award-winning documentary “a triumph” and “a refreshing and rare story for television.” It’s a chronicle of the courtship, marriage, and happily-ever-after of Monica and David, two young people who have Down syndrome.

The Washington Post calls it “a moving affair, a film that can inspire tears of joy within the first five minutes.”

At a time when characters with disabilities are almost unseen on TV, filmmaker Ali Codina provides an intimate portrait of these two as they struggle to balance their desires for independence with their need to rely on others for assistance. The pair live with family, and have not been able to find work.

Codina tells the Miami Herald that she hopes the film will help build public awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities .

“That was always my goal throughout the making of the film: To get it to the largest audience possible who may know very little about disabilities,” Codina says. “Once the viewer connects with the love story, you can start dealing with broader issues, such as addressing the fact that we don’t often acknowledge adults with disabilities as adults. We treat them as children. I also hope people who see Monica & David start to think differently about employment for the disabled. It’s a pretty tough reality in terms of what’s available for them.”

… “Monica & David is one of the greatest love stories of all time,” says Anthony K. Shriver, founder and chairman of Best Buddies. “I am also hopeful that it will be a wake-up call for all of us about the endless love, passion and ability that all individuals with intellectual disabilities possess.”

More coverage in the Denver Post. The movie’s home page is here.

Earlier post here.

From Business Week/HealthDay; National Organization on Disability press release:

A new Harris poll finds that few American companies hire job seekers with disabilities or take steps to provide a welcoming work environment for them, even though many of these companies say that hiring people with disabilities is important.

The national poll of 411 senior executives and human resource managers found that 70 percent of respondents’ companies have diversity policies or programs in place, but only two-thirds of those with programs include disability as a component.

Only 18 percent of companies offer an education program designed to integrate people with disabilities into the workplace, and only 19 percent of companies have a specific person or department that oversees the hiring of people with disabilities, compared with 40 percent in 1995.

The release of the poll was timed to coincide with National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Writing on the AOLnews website, supermodel and lifestyle guru Kathy Ireland says funding for research into Down syndrome has been consistently reduced until it now accounts for less than 0.01 percent of the National Institutes of Health’s annual research budget. This must change, says Ireland. Her niece Polly has Down syndrome.

We are on the verge of medical breakthroughs with Down syndrome, and we can’t let it fall from our doctors’ hands.

… We are in a race to help those with DS. We must run side by side with them, assuring them that the Down syndrome funding cuts, which the National Institutes of Health has faced, are reversed now.

From AP on MSNBC, with video; the Digital Journal; Wireless Week; American Foundation for the Blind release in the Kansas City Star:

President Obama has signed legislation that requires smart phones, television programs and other modern communications technologies to be made accessible to people who have impaired vision or hearing.

The legislation was hailed as “life-changing” by Paul Schroeder, a vice president at the American Foundation for the Blind.

“We’ve come a long way but even today, after all the progress that we’ve made, too many Americans with disabilities are still measured by what folks think they can’t do, instead of what we know they can do,” Obama said.

The new law “will make it easier for people who are deaf, blind or live with a visual impairment to do what many of us take for granted,” he said, from navigating a TV or DVD menu to sending an e-mail on a smart phone.

President Obama celebrated the signing of “Rosa’s Law” at an East Room ceremony honoring of 9-year-old Rosa Marcellino, the Maryland girl with Down syndrome who was its inspiration. The law ends the use of the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” in federal health, education and labor laws. “It’s so inspiring to have her here,” the president said, looking over at Rosa.

“The most important thing about Rosa’s Law is respect,” said Paul Marcellino, Rosa’s father. “For all her peers, all her friends. Everybody who she’s around. They won’t be using that word to describe my daughter anymore. That’s the main thing.”

A sampling of coverage:

• ABC News names Rosa Marcellino its “Person of the Week.” The piece, with video, is accompanied by a string of vitriolic reader comments criticizing the law and its intent.
• Obama praises Maryland girl who inspired new law — Baltimore Sun
• Sen. Mikulski joins inspiration for Rosa’s law at White House Ceremony — Capital News Service

From The Hollywood Reporter, IAMPWD.org:

A new report on minority representation on broadcast television finds that scripted characters with identifiable disabilities will represent only one percent of all scripted series regular characters  on the five broadcast networks this fall. That’s just six characters out of 587. Of those six, only one is played by an actor who actually has a disability.

The report issued by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) examined all series regular characters expected to appear on the 84 announced scripted series airing during the 2010/11 broadcast network television season. Called “Where We Are On TV,” the annual report in the past has noted characters’ gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity. For the first time this year, a disability category was included.

“Among people with disabilities, where we are on TV has always been a mystery, and as this report clearly shows, mostly invisible,” said Anita Hollander, chair of the Tri-Union Inclusion in the Arts & Media of People With Disabilities (I AM PWD) Campaign of Actors’ Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Screen Actors Guild.

The six series regular characters with disabilities listed by the report were: The title character on House (Fox), who uses a cane; Dr. Remy “Thirteen” Hadley on House (Fox) who has Huntington’s Disease; Artie Abrams on Glee (Fox), who uses a wheelchair; Saul on Brothers & Sisters (ABC), who is living with HIV; young Max Braverman on Parenthood (NBC), who has Asperger’s syndrome; and Dr. Albert Robbins on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS), who has a prosthetic leg.

Of the six, only one is played by an actor with an identified disability: Robert David Hall, who portrays Dr. Robbins on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

The survey found more participation by actors with disabilities in continuing network guest roles, including two women with Down syndrome who appear on Fox’s Glee.

“Compared to series regulars, there is definitely more gender variety and more authenticity in casting recurring characters,” said Hollander. “This suggests that producers and writers are showing a guarded interest in being inclusive of characters with disabilities being portrayed by actors with disabilities.”

Earlier posts here.