I missed earlier reports that SCOTUS nominee Sonia Sotomayor has diabetes, although it certainly doesn’t change my opinion that she is eminently qualified for the job. I do find it interesting that her disability (diabetes constitutes an impairment under the ADA) is receiving such scrutiny. Other justices came onto the job with chronic health conditions, but the press was less inclined to disclose those facts to the public. Perhaps the unrestrained public discussion on Sotomayor’s diabetes shows that we can openly acknowledge the disabilities of public figures instead of politely ignoring them. Or we are simply witnessing the consequences of living in the age of Facebook and Twitter, where full disclosure is the behavioral norm.
Incidentally, Sotomayor has presided over some major disability discrimination cases and her written opinions illustrate an admirable resistance to the Rehnquist Court’s efforts to dilute the intent of the ADA.
Didn’t our last VP have a little disabililty called Cardiovascular Disease which caused him 4 heart attacks before he even was nominated for VP? Bush received less criticism for that and Cheney could have been our President with that potentially fatal condition. Strange isn’t it?