Senators are preparing to eliminate all references in federal law to the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded individual.”
Rosa’s Law, which will be marked up on Wednesday, would replace those terms with “intellectual disability” and “individual with an intellectual disability.”
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Attention to the word “retard’s” hurtful consequences has taken off in recent years, thanks in part to the outspoken former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose son Trig has Down syndrome. Palin called for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to be fired earlier this year after he called liberal healthcare activists “f—–g retarded,” but she has been less forceful when conservatives such as talk radio show Rush Limbaugh have used the term.
Full story: Bipartisan Senate bill aims to take ‘retarded’ out of federal lexicon – TheHill.com