Historically and across societies people with disabilities have been stigmatized and excluded from social opportunities on a variety of culturally specific grounds. In this collection, the authors explore the impact that the philosophical framing of disability can have on public policy questions, in the clinic, in the courtroom, and elsewhere. They examine the implications of this understanding for legal and policy approaches to disability, strategies for allocating and accessing health care, the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, health care rights, and other legal tools designed to address discrimination. This volume should be read by anyone seeking a balanced view of disability and an understanding of the connection between the framing of disability and policies that have a real-world impact on individuals.

'As we confront the implications of wide-ranging biomedical changes, issues of disability and of difference keep reappearing, like sharp rocks in roiling seas. This volume offers an invaluable breadth and depth of insight into those issues, highlighting how complex and varied they are, both in principle and in practice.'

Henry T. Greely - Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law, Director, Center for Law and the Biosciences, Stanford University

‘This collection reveals how much disability studies has evolved, exploring the legal implications that different framings of disability have on disabled people. Each chapter brings new and subtle insights.’

P. A. Murphy Source: Choice