As the year draws to a close and we reflect on the important progress that the feminist disability sector has made this year, celebrating those gains has been hampered by irreconcilable differences on domestic policy issues that are highlighted by Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD).DAWN Canada and our partners across the disability and women's rights sectors have indeed made critical progress this year, building considerable national and global momentum in our collective fight for the full realization of the rights of women, girls and gender-diverse people with disabilities.We celebrated when our esteemed colleague Dr. Laverne Jacobs became the first Canadian on the UN's disability rights committee this summer, and we put our hopes in the promise of rights and redress that are represented by legislation like the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence.Yet despite these gains, we are still battling regressive MAiD legislation amidst a nation-wide affordability crisis.While the government announced on December 15 that it was pressing pause on the planned expansion of MAiD legislation to those suffering from mental disorders, it is critical that we take this time to meaningfully address the debilitating poverty and affordability issues that have led many women with disabilities to apply for MAiD under the existing policy over the past year.Over 50 per cent of Canadians with disabilities are women, and 58 per cent of those women live on less than $10,000 per year. Women with disabilities are more affected by the lack of affordable housing than any other group in Canada. Compared to their male counterparts, women with disabilities are more likely to spend over 50 per cent of their before-tax income on housing. Many of these women are being forced to choose between stable housing, managing their health needs and purchasing food.Women with disabilities are struggling to survive, and given the lack of adequate assistance and accommodations, too many are looking to MAiD as a possible answer to the challenges they face. Women with disabilities need and deserve dignity, human rights and the right to live. What they've been offered instead is the right to choose between death and social and economic marginalization.“We need to get this right in order to protect those who are vulnerable,” Justice Minister David Lametti said when he announced his government was asking Parliament to delay the expansion of MAiD slated to go into effect next March.What we truly need is to question why Parliament and the Senate are willing to single out people with disabilities as the only group eligible for MAiD when they are not terminally ill. If this government is going to walk MAiD back now that there are questions about the rights of people with mental illness, they need to walk it all the way back. We have ample data to show that too many people with disabilities are accessing MAiD due to their extreme social and economic marginalization.We also need is for Canadians to stop thinking of women with disabilities as inherently vulnerable. We experience increased risks and marginalization because of failed policies, but we are not vulnerable. We are strong, resilient and full of promise, and we won't stop fighting for our right to a full and dignified life.Bonnie is the Chief Executive Officer at DAWN Canada. She is a recognized thought leader in both the feminist and disability movements in Canada and internationally.