I recently learned about Ally’s Law (also called The Restroom Access Act) and I wish I had known about it sooner! This law was developed by a 15-year-old patient with Crohn’s disease, Ally Bain. She was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 11 and at age 14, Ally experienced a Crohn’s flare up in a department store and had an accident because she was denied use of the employee only restroom. Since then, Ally has dedicated herself to raising awareness about Crohn’s disease and the rights of people living with the condition by creating Ally’s Law. This state law guarantees restroom rights to people with medical needs. For those of us who have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) I’m sure we’ve all had times we could have used this law too! The states that currently have this law are: Illinois, Minnesota, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Connecticut.

Did you know that ~700,000 Americans live with Crohn’s disease? The body’s immune system attacks healthy cells in the GI tract, causing inflammation and patients often begin experiencing symptoms in their teens. These symptoms include: severe fatigue, abdominal pain, joint pain, diarrhea and weight loss. For more information on Crohn’s go to CrohnsAndMe.com.

Check out my interview video below with Ally and her gastroenterologist, Dr. David Rubin – where we discuss more about Ally’s Law, information on Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBDs) and IBS. Dr. Rubin is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, and Director of the Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition fellowship program at the University of Chicago.

If you’re looking for information on the identification cards/passes that Ally mentioned that some states require, I’ve found that it is easiest to search for your state’s information on The Restroom Access Act and go from there. Some states require passes specific to their state.

Have you ever used this law?