1. United States
2. Conn.
3. Letter

I am writing to you as an ally to the autistic community, deeply concerned about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s proposed national autism registry. This initiative, under the guise of research, proposes to collect massive amounts of sensitive health data-from genetic information to insurance claims-without adequate transparency, ethical oversight, or meaningful consent. It treats autism as a "preventable disease," a framing that is not only scientifically unfounded, but also profoundly disrespectful and harmful to autistic people. As someone who believes in civil rights, bodily autonomy, and disability justice, I cannot support a project that reduces an entire population to a data set in search of a "fix." The registry perpetuates outdated, medicalized views of autism and ignores the expertise voices, and lived experiences of autistic people themselves. This is especially troubling given Mr. Kennedy's history of promoting misinformation particularly around vaccines and autism-claims that have been thoroughly debunked by the scientific community. Handing him influence over national research priorities involving vulnerable populations is both irresponsible and dangerous. I urge you to oppose any federal funding for this initiative, demand a full ethical review and ensure that autistic people and disability rights organizations are given the leadership role in any discussions about autism research moving forward Autistic people deserve better. They deserve rights, not registries. Thank you for your time and your commitment to upholding equity and justice.