In her opinion piece published Monday, October 6, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia State University College of Law Professor Wendy Hensel writes about how new amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which were recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush, restore protection to people with disabilities that has been eroded by restrictive Supreme Court decisions over the past 18 years.

"The amendments are important in their own right and deserve significant attention," Hensel wrote. "Equally noteworthy, they stand as an example of what can be accomplished when Americans come together to work in the best interests of society -- the kind of bipartisan cooperation that both political parties claim is the key to our future success as a nation."

Hensel teaches and writes about disability discrimination and tort law. She has published two articles exploring the concept of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including an empirical evaluation of the impact of mental illness stigma on litigation outcomes. She has also authored an article presenting a disability-rights critique of the torts of wrongful birth and wrongful life which was published in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Hensel acts as a co-director of the College of Law’s Externship Program and is an advisor to the Moot Court Teams and the Child Advocacy Society.

Read the Atlanta Journal-Constition opinion piece.