By Simon Cushing In several publications, the philosopher Perry Hendricks has pushed an argument that he calls “the impairment argument,” intended to demonstrate that our horror at causing impairments such as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) to our children in utero should lead us to regard abortion with at least equal horror, as surely death is […]
Category: Disability
When the going gets tough, where do persons with disabilities stand? Covid-19 pandemic, community-centered medicine and scarce health resources allocation
By Nicola Panocchia, Viola D’Ambrosio, Serafino Corti, Eluisa Lo Presti, Marco Bertelli, Maria Luisa Scattoni, and Filippo Ghelma The COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift in the medical paradigm from person-centered medicine to community-centered medicine. This shift gives “priority to community health above that of the individual patient in allocating scarce resources”. The patient-physician relationship […]
Are children who are born without a cerebral cortex conscious?
By Anna-Karin Margareta Andersson The article highlights an important but surprisingly neglected medical ethical topic: new research suggests that children born without a cerebral cortex are conscious. What types of care should they be provided in order to respect their human rights? This topic caught my attention thanks to Professor Alan Shewmon and colleagues’ pivotal […]
Pride or shame? Access to sex robots for older people with disabilities
By Nancy S. Jecker. Sex is about so much more than pleasure. It relates to some of the most central things we can do and be as human beings, such as generate a personally meaningful narrative of our lives; be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy; experience bodily integrity; affiliate and bond; feel and express a […]
Does euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide disrespect the disabled?
By Philip Reed. According to the way people commonly talk, laws and social practices can express certain messages. We might say that a strict immigration policy expresses an unwelcome message and disrespect to immigrants. Or a law that requires employers to provide paid family leave expresses encouragement for people to have children. This idea is […]