Disability, Difference, Discrimination: Perspectives on Justice in Bioethics and Public Policy (Point/Counterpoint: Philosophers Debate Contemporary Issues)

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.

Anita Silvers is professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University. David Wasserman is a research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, University of Maryland. Mary B. Mahowald is professor at the Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago. Lawrence C. Becker is the William R. Kenan, Jr. professor in the humanities (philosophy) at The College of William and Mary.