This article is quite outdated, but it gives a lot of interesting information. I especially enjoyed the paragraphs about his friendship with a profoundly disabled woman, his regular donations to a disability charity, and his decisions in caring for his mother with Alzheimer’s (all in the context of him essentially not believing that many people with disabilities have worthwhile lives and/or should be considered “persons”.) Ignore the title. https://www.michaelspecter.com/1999/09/the-dangerous-philosopher/
all in the context of him essentially not believing that many people with disabilities have worthwhile lives and/or should be considered “persons”.
I think he doesn’t (or didn’t) believe infants are persons, regardless of disability status, and he argues that parents should be able to have their infant euthanized for any disability like they should be able to have their fetus aborted for any disability.
See this excerpt from Practical Ethics. Also, a specific quote from there:
In any case, the position taken here does not imply that it would be better that no people born with severe disabilities should survive; it implies only that the parents of such infants should be able to make this decision. Nor does this imply lack of respect or equal consideration for people with disabilities who are now living their own lives in accordance with their own wishes. As we saw at the end of Chapter 2, the principle of equal consideration of interests rejects any discounting of the interests of people on grounds of disability.
This article is quite outdated, but it gives a lot of interesting information. I especially enjoyed the paragraphs about his friendship with a profoundly disabled woman, his regular donations to a disability charity, and his decisions in caring for his mother with Alzheimer’s (all in the context of him essentially not believing that many people with disabilities have worthwhile lives and/or should be considered “persons”.) Ignore the title. https://www.michaelspecter.com/1999/09/the-dangerous-philosopher/
I think he doesn’t (or didn’t) believe infants are persons, regardless of disability status, and he argues that parents should be able to have their infant euthanized for any disability like they should be able to have their fetus aborted for any disability.
See this excerpt from Practical Ethics. Also, a specific quote from there: