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Disability, genetics and global justice
- Author:
- SHAKESPEARE Tom
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 4(1), January 2005, pp.87-95.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Genetic developments are viewed with distrust by the disability rights community. But the argument that genetic screening promotes social injustice is not straightforward. Disabled people are affected by both the problems of impairment and the problems of disability. Preventing impairment should be a priority as well as preventing disability. Questions of social justice arise if biomedical approaches are prioritized at the cost of structural changes in society. They also arise when disabled people do not have access to genetic medicine. On a global scale, the priorities for impairment prevention are basic healthcare, not high technology medicine.
The Eugenic transition of 1996 in Japan: from law to personal choice
- Author:
- MORITA Kazuyo
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 16(5), August 2001, pp.765-771.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The Eugenic Protection Law, which regulated sterilisation and abortion in Japan, had two aspects: one was to prevent the birth of people with specific diseases and impairments, and the other was to permit women to have an abortion for specified reasons. This law was criticised by both disabled people and feminists, and finally amended in 1996. Another eugenic practice related to both disabled people and women is prenatal screening. One prenatal diagnostic check, serum screening is a simple blood test carried out on the mother with little risk and no need for sophisticated techniques. It became very widespread in Japan around 1996 and was used with too little thought. As a result, it led to controversy. This paper discusses Japanese eugenics by reference to the Eugenic Protection Law and prenatal screening from the standpoint of both women and disabled people.