6533b86efe1ef96bd12cb3ae
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Newborn infants and the moral significance of intellectual disabilities.
Simo Vehmassubject
medicine.medical_specialtyValue of LifeHuman CharacteristicsInfanticidePersons with Mental Disabilities050109 social psychologyDevelopmental psychologyResource Allocation03 medical and health sciencesInterpersonal relationshipIntellectual DisabilityUtilitarianismIntellectual disabilitymedicineHumans0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesInterpersonal RelationsPsychiatrySocial Responsibility030505 public healthMedical treatment05 social sciencesInfant NewbornGeneral Social SciencesBioethicsmedicine.diseaseEuthanasia PassivehumanitiesDisabled ChildrenSelf ConceptMedical servicesEuthanasia ActiveGeneral Health ProfessionsWell-beingQuality of LifeFamily RelationsMoral significanceDown Syndrome0305 other medical sciencePsychologyEthical AnalysisPrejudicedescription
This article presents moral philosophical arguments regarding life-saving medical treatment that may be more available to infants without disabilities than to infants with intellectual disabilities. The ideas are that children with disabilities are a burden to their families and to society and that a happy life may not be attainable for these children and their families. I argue that human well-being is not based merely on individual characteristics, but is a result of the individual's relation to other people. Further, children with disabilities are not inevitably a burden to their families or society. Accordingly, intellectual disability is not a sufficient reason for withholding life-saving treatment.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-11-10 | The Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps : official publication of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps |