Bad Cripple: Disability, Bioethics and Transplantation: Problems Abound

There is a long standing tension between bioethicists and disability rights activists and scholars. The exchanges between bioethicists and disability studies scholars in press and in person are polemical and often mean spirited. These exchanges transcend routine and strongly held scholarly differences. Simply put, there is a deep rooted personal and intense dislike between disability scholars and bioethicists. For example, Stephen Drake commenting on Peter Singer wrote that his "work as it pertains to euthanasia, infanticide, and personhood--the idea that some human beings are persons and others are not--is riddled with sloppiness and even dishonesty. To be fair, those traits aren't Singer's unique domain in the field of bioethics. Bioethics is a field that doesn't seem to demand intellectual integrity and honesty from professionals within its fold". Drake's harsh words are well within the norm. I get Drake's animosity--it is hard for any person with a disability to not take comments by bioethicists to heart.