"We are disappointed and disturbed by the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Texas v. Kennedy, which violates decades of precedent in an attempt to deny people with disabilities their fundamental right to live, work, and be cared for in their own communities. Healthcare workers understand deeply the benefits of providing care to our patients in their own homes and communities, and we cannot allow the federal government's negligence, or the actions of a few other states, to move Massachusetts backwards on the longstanding right to community integration for people with disabilities. We will not go back to the days when our disabled brothers and sisters were unnecessarily institutionalized and pushed to society's sidelines. Massachusetts must continue to uphold support for people with disabilities as outlined in Section 504, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision." - Cari Medina, 1199SEIU Massachusetts executive vice president