Synopsis
How should we respond to individuals with disabilities? What does it mean to be disabled? Over fifty million Americans, from neonates to the fragile elderly, are disabled. Some people say they have the right to full social participation, while others repudiate such claims as delusive or dangerous. In this compelling book, three experts in ethics, medicine, and the law address pressing disability questions in bioethics and public policy. Anita Silvers, David Wasserman, and Mary B. Mahowald test important theories of justice by bringing them to bear on subjects of concern in a wide variety of disciplines dealing with disability. They do so in the light of recent advances in feminist, minority, and cultural studies, and of the groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act.
Booknews
Three philosophers and a physician address the impact of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act on what we think, personally and socially, about disability. The essays take differing positions on how justice for people with disabilities may be secured while addressing the ways in which the law has altered philosophical assumptions about people with disabilities. Themes include dependence, independence, and interdependence; normalcy and deviancy; fairness in allocating benefits and burdens; intrinsic or instrumental value; and Kantian concerns for human dignity and utilitarian concerns for aggregate welfare. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)