Congress acknowledged that society’s accumulated myths and fears about disability and disease are as handicapping as are the physical limitations that flow from actual impairment.

The statement frames disability not only as a matter of bodily or medical impairment but as a social phenomenon intensified by prejudice. By emphasizing “accumulated myths and fears,” Brennan highlights how stigma, stereotypes, and institutional exclusion can function as barriers every bit as real as physical limitations. The line reflects a civil-rights-oriented understanding of disability: discrimination and social attitudes can “handicap” people by restricting access to work, public life, and equal dignity. It also implies a legislative recognition that remedying disability-related disadvantage requires changing social practices and legal structures, not merely treating impairments. In this view, equality demands confronting fear-driven assumptions about disease and disability.