New federal bill would replace this stigmatizing term with "intellectual disability"

On November 17 Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Michael Enzi (R-WY) introduced "Rosa's Law" (S. 2781), a bipartisan bill to substitute outdated, stigmatizing terms in federal health, education and labor laws. The terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" would be substituted with the terms "intellectual disability" and "individual with an intellectual disability."

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Watch Senator Mikulski's speech on the Senate floor.
http://bit.ly/4MuWZ9
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This bill is very important for people with intellectual disabilities who understand that language plays a crucial role in how they are perceived and treated in society and are actively advocating for terminology changes in federal and state laws. 'Mentally retarded," once an accepted medical term, is now often used to demean and insult people. Changing how we talk about people with intellectual disabilities is a critical step in promoting and protecting basic civil and human rights.

As of January 13th, Rosa's Law has 23 cosponsors in the Senate and the support of more than 30 national organizations.

Take Action

If your Senators are already cosponsors, please send a quick e-mail thanking them. If your Senators are not yet cosponsors, please ask them to cosponsor Rosa's Law.

» Find out if your Senator is a cosponsor here «

What Are the Next Steps?

Once the bill gains more cosponsors in the Senate, a companion bill will be introduced in the House. If grassroots advocates continue to let let their Senators and Representatives know that Rosa's law is a priority, the bill is much more likely to make its way through the lengthy legislative process and become law.