Rosemary Kennedy

<img src="https://www.jfklibrary.org/sites/default/files/archives/KFC/012/KFC-012-005/KFC-01040N.jpg">

• Rosemary Kennedy was the sister of John F. Kennedy. During birth she reportedly had an episode of hypoxia. She eventually showed developmental delay. In her early 20's Ms Rosemary Kennedy became more erratic and irritable, sometimes prone to violence. Her father agreed for her to have a lobotomy which unfortunately was not successful. After the lobotomy, she lost most cognitive function and was institutionalized until her death in 2005 (Rosemary Kennedy NY Times article by Ms Larson).

• John F. Kennedy famously signed the community mental health act of 1963 which began deinstitutionalization in America. In addition, Edward Kennedy (Rosemary's sister) and Patrick Kennedy (Rosemary's nephew) signed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act which forced insurance companies to treat psychiatric illnesses like physical illness. This increased salaries of psychiatrists and, IMHO, paved the way for the surge of interest in medical students today. (SAMHSA Website on the Community Mental Health act and Parity Act) --- Nikhil Dhawan, MD 2020/07/21 01:59

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver, also a sister of Rosemary and John F. Kennedy, reportedly remained close to her sister. She founded the special olympics and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her advocacy of people with intellectual disabilities (Obituary from The Guardian).