Selecting against Disability in the Liberal State
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- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Publication date:
- 23 July 2026
- 27 August 2026
- ISBN:
- 9781009843799
- 9781009843805
- Dimensions:
- (228 x 152 mm)
- Weight & Pages:
- 0.545kg, 266 Pages
- Dimensions:
- Weight & Pages:
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Book description
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.
Reviews
'People with disabilities often worry about the apparent eugenic trend of genetic technologies, which can be used to exclude people like them from families. But the role of liberal states in promoting the use of these technologies is often overlooked. Can liberal states remain neutral towards how people use reproductive technologies? In Selecting against Disability in the Liberal State, Heloise Robinson questions whether state neutrality is possible, and analyzes what neutrality would require. In the end, Robinson offers a compelling revision of our understanding of the relationship between people with disabilities and the liberal state in this age of expanding genetic control over reproduction.'
Chris Kaposy - Professor of Bioethics, Memorial University Centre for Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University
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