The Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill (PL) that classifies the disease type 1 diabetes mellitus as a disability. As it was voted on conclusively, in which the project is only analyzed by the committees designated to analyze it, the proposal goes to the Senate for consideration.
The idea of the project is to give visibility to those with the disease.
The country does not have a structured public policy – says the justification for the proposal.
The Ministry of Health considers diabetes mellitus to be a metabolic syndrome caused by the absence of insulin in the body and the inability of this hormone to satisfactorily exert its effects on the human body. The disease is characterized by permanently high blood sugar levels.
According to the authors of the bill, deputies Flávia Morais (PDT-GO) and Dr. Zacharias Calil (União-GO), the initiative tries to minimize various complications of the disease. When left untreated, diabetes can cause vision loss, chronic kidney complications, amputations, heart disease, as well as eating disorders and depression. The parliamentarians also state in the text that “less than 25% of patients have adequate control of the disease”.
According to deputies, the approval of the bill could place Brazil among the countries that follow the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO) in classifying the disease. The international institution defines disability as a disease that causes inequality, due to problems in the body, imposes limitations on activities, generating challenges and restricts the execution of normal daily tasks.
During the deliberative session, deputies highlighted that insulin-dependent people cannot take public exams that require physical activities or carry out activities in the private sector that directly involve machinery and vehicular equipment.
