Gracie’s Law is right for Georgia. 

All forms of discrimination are wrong. 

It is unimaginable that discrimination against disabled individuals could cost them their lives. 

Gracie’s Law, passed by the General Assembly, specifically makes it a criminal act to withhold potentially lifesaving organ donations from people with disabilities. 

The measure protects organ access for Georgians regardless of the physical or cognitive challenges they face. 

The bill was sponsored by Milledgeville Republican Rep. Rick Williams and it was quite simply the right thing to do. 

It provides a pathway through the lower courts for families who think a medical provider is discriminating against a disabled family member in need of organ transplantation. 

The bill was named for Gracie Joy Nobles, who was born with Down syndrome and has a heart defect. 

Her mother, Erin Nobles, told The Valdosta Daily Times the new law will be lifesaving for her 2-year-old daughter. 

The measure, two years in the making, does not prioritize people with disabilities or move them to the top of the transplant list, but it does mean they cannot legally be penalized simply because they have a disability. 

When the law goes into effect, no one can legally refuse to place a disabled child on a list for an organ. 

As Gwinnett Republican Sen. Clint Dixon, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, said, “It ends discrimination. It shows that we value every life and aligns with the values of who we strive to be as a state.”

Gracie’s Law also remedies another little known practice and prevents a provider from placing a disabled patient on a “do not resuscitate” order without the consent of parents. 

That addendum was sparked by the case of Simon Crosier, a 3-month-old Missouri child who died in 2017 after a doctor placed a “do not resuscitate” order on the child’s medical file, shocking the parents. 

This law is intended to put an end to those kinds of nightmares. 

Lawmakers in our state should be equally committed to ending all forms of discrimination.