‘Rosa’s law’ would end use of term ‘mentally retarded’

From ABC News:
Rosa Marcellino, an eight-year-old from Edgewater, Maryland, is at the center of the discussion of a bill in Congress that would strike the term “mentally retarded” from the federal lexicon.

Her older brother Nick used Rosa’s experience to convince the legislature in their home state to make the change earlier this year. Rosa, who has Down syndrome, regularly hears her peers insult each other with comments such as “You’re such a retard.”

“The word retarded is slang to call someone stupid, and we know Rosa is not stupid at all,” Nick told ABCNews.com. “Words are important.”

Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski (above with a photo of Rosa) introduced the bill on Tuesday. She said the measure was motivated by a desire to assist “this little girl and all the children … who are labeled, stigmatized, and bear a burden for the rest of their lives because of the language we use in the lawbooks.”