As we paused to honor the towering life work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it is notable that Justice Ginsburg was a tireless advocate for equality of the disabled.
Justice Ginsburg wrote the 1999 majority opinion in Olmstead v. L.C., a landmark case for disability rights and inclusion. The Court affirmed that people with disabilities have a civil right to live, work and participate in all aspects of their communities, and found that segregation of people with disabilities is a type of discrimination prohibited under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Speaking of the harm caused by segregation on the basis of disability, Justice Ginsburg wrote: it “perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life” and “diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.”