title: Perspectives on the Meaning of "Disability".
abstract: The meaning of "disability" has shifted with changes in public policy. Half a century ago, Congress was convinced that narrow determinations of disability are easy for physicians to make. But with the advent of universal civil rights protection against disability discrimination in the US, deciding whether particular individuals are disabled became increasingly contentious, until Congress intervened. What should now be addressed in each case is not whether the functionally compromised person is severely disabled enough to exercise a right, but whether mitigating interventions and reasonable accommodations can together achieve equitable access for that person.
authors: Distinguished professor of law and philosophy and director of the Center for Law and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
authors: Leslie
authors: L
authors: Francis
authors: Professor in and chair of the Department of Philosophy at San Francisco State University, and member of the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Ethics Committee.
authors: Anita
authors: A
authors: Silvers
mesh_terms: D002961:Civil Rights / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D011640:Public Policy / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D063508:Social Discrimination / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012935:Social Justice / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States