Disabilities

Fifty-four million Americans live with some sort of disability, according to the most recent survey — that's one in five Americans, or the combined populations of California and Florida. Some other enlightening facts from the survey results include:

• 46 percents of adults with disabilities are employed (compared to 84 percent of non-disabled).
• 3.3 million people in America use a wheelchair.
• On average, people with severe disabilities earn $1,458 a month, compared to $2,539 without disabilities.
• 13 percent of children between the ages of 6-14 have a disability, which typically involves difficulty doing regular schoolwork.

More Americans have disabilities since the last survey in 2002, which found that 51.2 million (18 percent) Americans were disabled. Since the designation of "disability" can include a whole range of limits, it makes sense that a good amount of Americans live with some form of a disability. Still, do you find the survey results surprising? Do you know someone living with a disability?

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A three-year-old born with cerebral palsy was gifted a miniature pony from his grandfather. A form of equestrian therapy, Sam Spliteri's daily rides help him with simple tasks like feeding himself and improving his speech. Though he has ridden his pet that lives at his home since he was a baby, the town of Caledon recently received a complaint from a neighbor.

Since the property is not zoned for livestock, the family may be forced to give up the pony and the child would have to say good-bye to his best friend. Sam has seizures so it is almost impossible for him to commute to other horseback riding facilities.

If you find yourself in South Korea in search of a massage, if you visit a legal parlor, you won't even need a towel for modesty. That's because for the past century the job of masseur has been reserved for the legally blind. Just over 7,000 blind people with magic fingers work in 1,000 massage parlors throughout the country, but it's not enough to keep up with demand. A black market of massage has sprung up supplying another 150,000 to 700,000 illegal, sighted, masseuses who can face fines from $450 to $4,500 and up to three years in jail.

The stand off over the right to rub down has led to violent protests and suits filed by the sighted masseurs asking the Constitutional Court of South Korea to declare unconstitutional the blind-only law and a violation of their rights. A ruling on the matter could come next week.

To see both sides of the argument, read more

• US and UK Join Forces: Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced Britain will send extra troops to Afghanistan, bringing numbers to their highest level yet — the UK surge will bring overall UK numbers in Afghanistan to more than 8,000. Brown spoke at a news conference with President George Bush, said the military presence would be increased to keep up pressure on the Taliban. The two leaders also joined forces to put pressure on Iran. They have warned Iran to accept their "offers of partnership" or receive harsh sanctions and international isolation. President Bush thanked Brown for his "strong statement" saying, "the Iranians must understand that when we come together and speak with one voice we are serious. . . Iranians must understand, however, that all options are on the table."



• Updates to the ADA: The Bush administration is about to big changes that would give people with disabilities greater access to courtrooms, swimming pools, stadiums, and stores. The proposal would update and rewrite federal standards for enforcement of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a landmark civil rights law passed with large bipartisan support in 1990. The new rules would have more strict requirements and are being put forth in an effort to meet the needs of an aging population and growing numbers of disabled war veterans. More than seven million businesses and all state and local government agencies would need to make changes.
• Saudi Arabia to Up Oil Production: Though President Bush was unable to persuade them to do so, Saudi Arabia now plans to increase its oil production by 200,000 barrels a day next month, the kingdom's oil minister told UN chief Ban Ki-moon yesterday. Ban said, "the king believes that the current oil prices are abnormally high, and he is ready to restore prices to their appropriate levels." Saudi Arabia is thought to increase oil production by 200,000 barrels a day from June to July. By July, production should be at 9.7 million barrels a day.

A baby thought to be terminated eight weeks into the pregnancy has survived. The parents are an English couple who chose to have an abortion because their first son had died from a kidney disease, and their second was born with serious kidney damage and is currently living with one kidney.

Jodie, the mother, says that she was taking birth control when she became pregnant with Finley. After the abortion procedure, she felt flutters in her stomach and returned to the doctor to find out she was in fact 19 weeks pregnant.

Because the abortion happened so early in the pregnancy, and the fetus was so small, the doctors missed it. At first Jodie was angry, but she decided to give her son a second chance at life.

The baby was born with minor kidney damage, and is expected to live a normal life. Finley truly has some determination to live — considering he beat out birth control and an abortion. Is this story a miracle, or a tragedy?

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