A church in rural Minnesota has issued a restraining order preventing a family from bringing their autistic son to Mass with them. The church claims that the kid is severely disruptive and a physical threat to the other parishioners. The family responds that the church is overreacting and unfairly excluding their son solely on the basis of his disability. This sounds like a case where both sides are speaking from the truth as they see it, but getting a restraining order seems both clumsy and needlessly antagonistic. I’d advise the church to seek new legal counsel.
In other news, track athlete and amputee Oscar Pistorious has won his appeal to be allowed to compete for a spot on the South African Olympic team. Some of you may recall that a separate rules committee banned Pistorious from Olympic competition because his prosthetic limbs might give him an “unfair advantage”. While this decision is specifically tailored to Pistorius’ situation (and he has only an outside chance of actually making the team), we may be witnessing the redefinition of the term “athlete” to include modified or augmented human bodies.
