Women with disabilities are legally vulnerable and are not believed by healthcare providers. They face the additional challenge of proving they are disabled, often while overcoming existing historical, medical, and legal frameworks that view them as defective. The explicit and implicit bias of healthcare professionals creates an othering effect, leading to diagnostic errors. This cycle, in turn, perpetuates ongoing health disparities plaguing women with disabilities in healthcare. In general, women are more readily dismissed by healthcare professionals than men, and experiencing a disability, especially when it is non-apparent, adds another layer of challenges. Unfortunately, these women cannot turn to our legal system for recourse. Current disability antidiscrimination law is inadequate and fails to provide sufficient protections, leaving these women vulnerable to the persistent biases riddling the U.S. healthcare system. Further, the existing legal framework does not account for non-apparent disabilities those who are not able enough and not disabled enough. Alongside pitfalls in our legal and medical systems, women with disabilities must advocate for themselves to receive adequate treatment. Their experiences and challenges are compounded as the US healthcare system frequently overlooks and devalues their humanity. This Article examines key legal and theoretical frameworks alongside the intersection of gender and disabilities and exposure to diagnostic error. This paper bridges this intersection by examining women with disabilities, with a focus on those with non-apparent disabilities, their exposure to diagnostic error, and their overall treatment within the healthcare system.

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