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Maryland, Iowa, and Virginia all passed parity bills during the 2009 legislative sessions. The Amputee Coalition of America (ACA) is thrilled about the progress it is making across the country. But we're not only celebrating the passage of legislation—we're also celebrating all of the victories along the way.
Utah is a prime example of this. With the determined work of local activist Tami Stanley and the continued support of Rep. David Litvack (D-UT), the Utah prosthetic-parity bill was introduced in the Utah House of Representatives on January 13, 2009. On February 20, the Utah House Health and Human Services Committee passed it by a vote of five to one, and on February 27, the full Utah House voted to pass it by a vote of 46 to 27, with two abstaining. When the session ended on March 12, the bill was near the front of the line of bills waiting to be debated and voted on by the Utah Senate. As a result, the bill did not pass this session.
While many people might first see this as a failure, this was actually an incredible success for prosthetic parity in Utah. In 2008, the bill had been introduced in the House and was killed in the House Committee by a vote of 10 to 3.
Stanley worked tirelessly to keep this bill moving. She made countless phone calls and was at the capitol almost every week, knocking on office doors and fighting to raise awareness and build support for the parity bill. With all of Stanley's great work, we have built a strong base of bipartisan support. Our sponsors and allies have already committed to re-introducing the legislation in 2010. This summer, the ACA is holding a statewide organizing meeting to ramp up support going into the next legislation session.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." With the hard work of a few determined people like Stanley in your local community, prosthetic parity legislation can be passed in your state and in every state.
Morgan Sheets is the national advocacy director for ACA's Action Plan for People with Limb Loss (APPLL) initiative. She can be reached at . For more information, visit www.amputee-coalition.org/advocacy/index.html
