Opening Doors for the Disabled

But the handicapped-rights law may harm those it aims to help

Norma Westfield eases her wheelchair out of the elevator of her apartment, through the front door and to the Handi-Van waiting in front of her building. It is a vehicle with hydraulic lifts that the city of Fond du Lac offers to disabled residents. Westfield, 43, who has used a wheelchair since she was stricken with polio as a child, relies on the Handi-Van to reach her doctor's office and a local hospital where she does volunteer work. She is not strong enough to push herself to the bus stop a block away, and during the winter Westfield's wheelchair could easily...

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