Selecting against disability in the liberal state : choice, equality, and the limits of neutrality / Heloise Robinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Robinson, Heloise, Author.

Series:

Cambridge bioethics and law.

Cambridge bioethics and law

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prenatal diagnosis--Law and legislation.

Prenatal diagnosis.

Eugenics--Moral and ethical aspects.

Eugenics.

People with disabilities--Moral and ethical aspects.

People with disabilities.

Abortion--Law and legislation.

Abortion.

Equality--Moral and ethical aspects.

Equality.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 251 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

Throughout the world, in liberal states, it is common to use prenatal selection techniques and procedures which can prevent the birth of a disabled child. A common assumption is that this practice is driven by individual choice, and that the state itself is neutral. If instead the state was not neutral, this would raise fears of eugenics. The purpose of this book is to test this common assumption. While there is extensive literature on the ethics of selecting against disability, this book proposes a different starting point based on an analysis of the state's position. Through an examination of liberal theory, and a review of concrete examples of state practice, it sheds new light on our society's commitment to the equality of disabled people and the equality of women.

Contents:

Part I Foundations: choice, neutrality, and disability

1 Choice as the starting point, and liberal neutrality

1.1 Introduction

1.2 From the traditional approach to state intention

1.3 Neutrality in the liberal tradition

1.4 Interpretations of a neutral state intention

1.5 Conclusion

2 Constraints on choice, and liberal eugenics

2.1 Introduction

2.2 The master geneticist, and a liberal approach to selection

2.3 Liberal constraints on choice

2.4 The child, the world, and the woman

2.5 Conclusion

3 Disability, neutrality, and the good chosen life

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Quality of life evaluations, and the good life

3.3 Defining disability, and liberal neutrality

3.4 Choosing children, and choosing lives

3.5 Conclusion

Part II State practice: law, information, and funding

4 The law and its messages

4.1 Introduction

4.2 The expressivist argument, and the law on abortion

4.3 Messages, coercion, and preimplantation genetic testing

4.4 Best interests, and the treatment of very ill infants

4.5 State neutrality and the law

4.6 Conclusion

5 Information, and the shaping of choice

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Information about prenatal testing and abortion

5.3 Information as a nudge

5.4 State neutrality and information

5.5 Conclusion

6 Public funding and public health

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Unequal costs and unequal funding

6.3 Public funding and cost calculations

6.4 State neutrality and public funding

6.5 Conclusion

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 28 Jul 2026).

ISBN:

9781009843799