HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent remarks about autism are deeply offensive, dehumanizing, and dangerous. In saying that “autism destroys families” and describing autistic children as individuals who will “never pay taxes,” “never play baseball,” or “never go out on a date,” Kennedy reduces an entire group of people to a list of perceived deficits. He strips autistic individuals of their humanity and their dignity, and in doing so, sends a chilling message: that their lives are less valuable because they may not conform to his narrow definition of “normal.”

Let’s be very clear: disability is a normal and expected part of the human experience.

One in four people in the United States lives with a disability. That’s over 60 million people—our neighbors, our co-workers, our artists, our teachers, our family members, our friends. Autistic people are everywhere—in schools, workplaces, churches, restaurants, and baseball stadiums. They are comedians, engineers, civic leaders, poets, and yes, Cardinals fans. They contribute to our communities in countless ways, including paying taxes out of their paychecks.

Autism is part of the broad and diverse disability community. It is not something to be feared or pitied. The notion that a person’s value lies in their economic output or ability to meet arbitrary social milestones is not only factually incorrect, it is morally bankrupt. Human worth is not determined by whether someone “pays taxes” or “goes on a date.” Every person deserves respect, love, and access to a full life.

Kennedy’s comments are not grounded in science or in humanity. They echo harmful, outdated stereotypes that have long been used to justify the exclusion and mistreatment of disabled people. Statements like his reinforce ableist attitudes that cause real harm—fueling stigma, justifying the denial of resources and accommodations, and silencing disabled voices.

As the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kennedy has a duty to protect and uplift all Americans, including those with disabilities. Instead, his words promote fear, erasure, and exclusion. That is unacceptable. Disabled people are not a burden. We are a vital, vibrant part of society. We do not need to be “fixed” or hidden. We need to be heard, valued, and included.

Autistic people, like all people, have inherent worth. They deserve leadership that sees their full humanity, not one that diminishes them with baseless, cruel generalizations. We deserve better than rhetoric that erases the richness of disabled lives. Secretary Kennedy must be held accountable for these remarks and respect the disability community. Anything less is a profound failure of leadership.