CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A foundation that advocates for people with debilitating intestinal issues is reminding retailers and restaurants of their responsibilities if those people need to use a restroom, even during the pandemic.
Illinois was the first of 17 statest to pass a Restroom Access law for people with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and celiac disease.
The laws require stores and restaurants, in most cases, to provide restroom access to people with those medical conditions, even allowing the use of employee-only restrooms.
"One of the biggest issues they do face is this crippling urgency where, when it hits, you have to go or you may have an accident," said Rebecca Kaplan of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
Kaplan said not all retailers follow the law.
"During the pandemic, we started hearing from patients who had been denied access to, what otherwise, would have been a publicly available restroom."
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Kaplan said that for people with inflammatory bowel diseases, leaving the house and suddenly having to go to the bathroom is a constant worry.
"For a lot of our patients, this does happen when they’re out in public and we have heard many stories from patients where they’ve, unfortunately, ultimately had accidents because they were denied access to restrooms," she said.
She said it's embarrassing and can be demoralizing to have an accident in public.
Kaplan said patients who are denied access can file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health.