Newborn infants and the moral significance of intellectual disabilities

Journal/Book: J Assn Pers Severe Handicap. 1999; 24: 29 W Susquehanna Ave Ste 210, Baltimore, MD 21204-5201, USA. Assn Pers Severe Handicap. 111-121.

Abstract: 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.

Note: Article Vehmas S, Univ Jyvaskyla, Dept Special Educ, POB 35, SF-40351 Jyvaskyla, FINLAND

Keyword(s): euthanasia; infanticide; moral judgments; utilitarianism; well-being; RETARDED-CHILDREN; HANDICAPPED-CHILD; DOWNS-SYNDROME; FAMILIES; ADAPTATION; STRESS; PARENTS; MOTHERS; MODEL

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