Mississippi mother pushes for Cole's Law to pass - WAPT Jackson

A Mississippi mother has been working for years to push a law that protects those with disabilities from being discriminated against.

House Bill 20, or Cole's Law, prohibits health care providers from denying those with disabilities access to organ transplants. Other states have passed similar laws, and Cara Sims believes Mississippi should also be included.

Sims said she was inspired to create Cole's Law after coming across a family on social media that was discriminated against due to their disabilities. Sims, along with Rep. Lee Yancey, has been at the forefront of bringing awareness so it doesn't happen in Mississippi.

Sims' 4-year-old son, Cole, has Down syndrome, and she doesn't want him or any other person with disabilities to be denied proper care when it comes to organ transplant procedures.

"Even though we may not know of that discrimination happening here in Mississippi, I don’t want to wait until it does happen to someone before we do something," said Sims.

This is the third year that Yancey, Sims and others have fought for Cole's Law to pass. In 2020, the bill passed in the house but died when it went to the state. The bill died in the house in 2021. This year, they are hopeful with the unanimous vote from the house that it will be the year the bill goes into law.

“I talked to Sen. Bryan, and he says he’s inclined to take it up this year. It looks like this is going to be the year that Cole’s Law finally passes,” said Yancey.

The bill will go before the Senate Public Health Committee this week then go to the floor of the Senate for a vote.

source: https://www.wapt.com/article/mississippi-mother-pushes-for-coles-law-to-pass/39168013

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