Andrew ("Drew") I. Batavia (June 15, 1957 – January 6, 2003) was a disability rights activist, health policy researcher, author, and associate professor at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

who, at the age of 16, sustained a spinal cord injury. He earned a JD from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and an MS in health services research from Stanford University Medical School, and as a White House Fellow (1990) worked under Attorney General Dick Thornburgh to draft regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2002, he co-founded Autonomy, Inc., to represent persons with disabilities who wanted choices and control over their lives, including the choice to end it for those with disabilities who were terminally ill.

Early life

Batavia was born at Beth-El Hospital (now Brookdale) in Brooklyn and lived in the Italian-Jewish neighborhood of Bensonhurst on 80th street until he was eight years old. In 1966, the family moved to

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, where he attended fourth grade at Public School 21. Later he attended Lincoln High School and in May 1973, at age 15, completed the

Yonkers Marathon The Yonkers Marathon, is a marathon race held annually in Yonkers, New York. Founded in 1907, it is the second oldest marathon in the United States, after the Boston Marathon. It is held on the third Sunday in October. In addition to the marat ...

Car accident and physical rehabilitation

In the summer of 1973, at age 16, Batavia was hired as a camp counselor for children with intellectual disabilities at Camp Lee Mar in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania. On a day off from work in early August, he went to

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary residence and plantation of Thomas Jefferson, a Founding Father, author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third president of the United States. Jefferson began designing Monticello after inheriting l ...

with two other counselors. At the end of the day, they hitchhiked back to camp. The car that picked them up crashed, and Batavia flew through the front windshield, breaking his neck. He was transported to Wayne County Memorial Hospital in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, but after initial care, he was transferred in mid-August to Montefiore Medical Center in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, where his spinal cord injury (at the C2-C3 level) could be better managed. In 1974, following his acute care at Montefiore, he was admitted for physical rehabilitation to the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in the city of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

for almost a year. He was later discharged with a wheelchair to his home in

, where he completed his senior year at Lincoln High School (1974–75), and was elected co-president of his senior class.

Higher education

On graduating high school, Batavia matriculated at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, which had a program for disabled students. After one year, he transferred to Strawberry Creek College, a smaller division of the university, which offered a more personal educational experience. The following year he transferred to

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in ...

, which offered a more wheelchair-accessible campus, and majored in both economics and sociology. After receiving a BS at Riverside, Batavia attended

for two years. The following summer, he interned as an associate at the Wall Street firm

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP (known as Fried Frank), is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm also has offices in Washington, D.C., London, Frankfurt, and Brussels. It has more than 800 attorneys wor ...

. After two years at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, he took a leave to get an MS degree in health services research at

Stanford Medical School The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fra ...

(1980-1983), where he studied under Victor Fuchs and Alain Enthoven. While at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, he joined and served as president of the Stanford Disabled Students to address disability policy issues at the campus. Batavia then completed his final year of law school at

(1983-1984) while still receiving his JD degree from

in 1984.

Initial career

Batavia's first job after law school was in the office of the general counsel at the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

(HHS), where he promulgated regulations, reviewed proposals, and litigated. After two years working for HHS, he left and joined the National Rehabilitation Hospital (now Medstar) as associate director of health services research under Gerben Dejong in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(1987-1989). In 1986–87, he was funded as a Mary E. Switzer Research Fellow and started his career as a health policy researcher, publishing, together with Gerben, in the area of rehabilitation.

White House Fellowship

Batavia was one of twelve White House Fellows selected for the 1990–91 period. He served as special assistant to Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, writing regulations to effectuate the implementation of the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

(ADA) of 1990.On The 26th Birthday Of The Americans With Disabilities Act, C&C Remembers Its Champion, Andrew Batavia. Compassion & Choices. July 26, 2016. https://www.compassionandchoices.org/on-the-26th-birthday-of-the-americans-with-disabilities-act-cc-remembers-its-champion-andrew-batavia/ . Accessed July 6, 2017.

Government and policy work

Following the WHF, Batavia accepted a position as senior staffer on the Domestic Policy Council in the White House (1991-1992), under President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, where he wrote a proposal for national universal health care. In 1992, he served a year as research director for disability and rehabilitation policy at ABT Associates, Inc., in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., it is a major business and government center of the Washington metropolitan region ...

(1992-1993) and later, he served as executive director at the

National Council on Disability The National Council on Disability (NCD) is an advisory agency on disability policy in the United States for all levels of government and for private sector entities. NCD is an independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U ...

(1993). From 1993 to 1995, Batavia served as a legislative assistant to Senator John McCain of Arizona, where he focused on domestic economic and health policy issues.Francis L, Slivers A. ''Americans with Disabilities.'' Routledge; 2015: 165.

''Miami Herald'' columnist

In 1992, Batavia and his longtime personal assistant, Cheryl Nicholson, were married at their home in Washington, D.C. In 1995, they moved to

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

, where Batavia wrote a column about disability issues for the ''Miami Herald''. They adopted a Russian brother and sister, Joe and Katey, in 1996.

Involvement in assisted-dying debate

While working as counsel at the law firm McDermott Will & Emery from 1995 to 1997, he filed '' amicus'' briefs and served as the attorney of record to protect the rights of individuals who were terminally ill and who wished assistance to end their lives. Batavia served as co-counsel on the brief ''amici'' on behalf of Autonomy, Inc. in the Supreme Court of the United States case of '' Oregon v. Ashcroft'' in 2002, and in the appeal to the

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...

. He also served as attorney of record on the brief ''amici'' in ''

Washington v. Glucksberg ''Washington v. Glucksberg'', 521 U.S. 702 (1997), was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which unanimously held that a right to assisted suicide in the United States was not prote ...

,'' and Vacco v. Quill before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1996, as well as on the brief ''amici'' for ''Krischer v. McIver'' in the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

in 1997.Sarat A. ''Special Issue Social Movements/Legal Possibilities.'' Emerald Group Publishing; 2011: 103

University teaching

Batavia joined

(FIU) in September 1997 as an associate professor of health care law and policy (1997-2002) in the School of Policy and Management, where his main office was located on North Miami's Biscayne campus. There, he continued to publish articles and the book ''Independent Living: A Viable Option for Long-Term Care'', which described three models of care for persons with disabilities.

Autonomy, Inc.

In 2002, he became president and cofounded with Hugh Gallagher, Autonomy, Inc., a not-for-profit organization to represent people with disabilities who wanted choices and control over their lives, including the choice to end it for persons with disabilities who were terminally ill.

Death

Batavia died at

Jackson Memorial Hospital Jackson Memorial Hospital, also referred to as Jackson or abbreviated MJMH, is a non-profit, tertiary care hospital, and the primary teaching hospital of the University of Miami's School of Medicine. As of 2021, it is the largest hospital in t ...

in Florida, on January 6, 2003, from sepsis, at age 45. His memorial service was held a week later at Beth Israel Memorial Chapel in Delray Beach. He was awarded tenure and posthumously promoted to full professor in January 2003.

Memoirs

In 2015, fourteen chapters of Batavia's unfinished memoir were discovered on a hard drive. The family completed the memoir, which Batavia had titled ''Wisdom from a Chair''.Batavia AI, Batavia M. ''Wisdom from a Chair: Thirty Years of Quadriplegia.'' Bradenton, Florida: Booklocker.com; 2016 In the preface, Batavia wrote his life's mission:

References

External links

* The Americans with Disability Act Program 26 July 1991 US Department of Justice Dick Thornburgh Papers http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/t/thornburgh/dtVideoPlayer?id=dtv182 * Podcast "Of Wheelchairs and Managed Care" Health Affairs http://www.healthaffairs.org/podcasts/of-wheelchairs-and-managed-care-full-essay/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Batavia, Andrew 1957 births 2003 deaths Harvard Law School alumni Stanford University School of Medicine alumni Florida International University faculty 20th-century American lawyers University of California, Riverside alumni People associated with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson American disability rights activists