The Fibrochondriac

Sonia Sotomayor is currently being vetted for a seat on the Supreme Court. She is well qualified on many levels, especially in President Obama’s opinion that she has a “life story”.  That life story includes diabetes, a chronic illness.

I’m sure those that do not want Sotomayer in the Supreme Court can find plenty of reasons to pick apart her nomination. The “wise Latina” cracks are getting a little old. But in the letters to the editor section of the San Diego Union-Tribune a physician wrote a letter stating that, well here, I’m not going to paraphrase, I’ll give it to you verbatim:

“The conservative opposition has so far focused on her decision in the Ricci v. DeStefano reverse discrimination case. However, as a physician, I believe that Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s health is the real reason why she may be unqualified to fill a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Supreme Court. She has been a 50-year type 1 diabetic. She has already survived her actuarially predicted life span. The general prognosis includes a much higher risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and dementia. These and other tendencies challenge calm judicial deliberation by a healthy mind over a lifetime.

Examine the candidate’s judicial philosophy. She may satisfactorily rebuff all challenges. Do not, however, overlook the implications of her diabetic history. It is not discriminatory to fully evaluate what a 50-year history of type 1 diabetes may mean to the judicial sanctum of the Supreme Court.”

This guy pissed me off. Since when is a well-managed chronic illness a reason to deny someone a job? So I shot this particular letter over to Jennifer Jaff. She is my favorite attorney and the best advocate money can buy for many chronically ill patients (however she doesn’t charge for her services, go figure).  She is an extraordinary and amazing woman. Just never get on her bad side. She pretty much left me without anything to post! Justice Sotomayer II

But the implications that an educated person, a doctor, is willing to write a letter to the editor and state publicly that a person should not hold a position because she has a chronic illness is just chilling. 

And the fact that the next day I did not see any seething letters calling him nasty names and telling him that he is wrong on so many levels to take this position…well that really pisses me off.

So I’ve been working on a rebuttal to his letter, but by the time I get it on paper and mailed Judge Sotomayer will have probably been confirmed and already in session. But I’ve got to do it.

I’ve never thought of myself as an advocate (oh Jennifer laughed at me when I asked about ‘helping’ her!) or an activist, but if nobody else is going to take the time to point out that the position that this doctor is taking is just plain unhealthy then if it’s important to me that means I need to do it.

So call me an activist! 

Follow up: Jennifer Jaff’s rebuttal to the “doctor’s” comments made it to the printed letters to the editor in today’s (7/15/09) edition of Union Tribune  That totally made my day. Even though I didn’t write the letter, I was instrumental in the rebuttal. I love it!