elizabeth Dietz

Elizabeth Dietz – “Abortion, Disability Rights, and Reproductive Justice”

1. According to Dietz, does selective abortion contribute to the discrimination of disabled people?

  • Dietz acknowledges that selective abortion raises concerns about discrimination against disabled people, but she situates this within broader systemic issues. She highlights that:

    • The harm of elimination occurs when prenatal testing and selective abortion lead to the significant reduction or near elimination of people with certain disabilities (e.g., Down syndrome in Denmark).

    • This reduction may reinforce societal attitudes that disabled lives are less valuable, perpetuating structural ableism.

    • However, Dietz avoids attributing blame solely to individual parents and instead critiques systemic factors, such as cultural pressures and inadequate social supports, that influence these decisions​.

2. Explain the two harms explored in this paper: the harm of elimination and the harm of the perpetrator perspective.

  • Harm of Elimination:

    • This occurs when prenatal testing and selective abortion contribute to the systematic reduction or elimination of people with specific disabilities.

    • It reflects the structural ableism in societies where the availability of genetic testing combines with cultural and economic pressures to shape decisions against bringing disabled individuals into the world​.

  • Harm of the Perpetrator Perspective:

    • This harm arises from framing complex societal issues, like systemic ableism, as the fault of individual actors.

    • For instance, wrongful birth lawsuits reduce systemic problems (e.g., lack of social supports for disabled people) to individual blame, reinforcing an oversimplified view of harm while obscuring broader social responsibilities​.

3. On what grounds might Steinbock and Dietz disagree?

  • Steinbock:

    • Defends the permissibility of selective abortion, arguing that it does not inherently devalue disabled people but reflects reasonable parental preferences to avoid significant burdens​.

    • Emphasizes individual autonomy and informed choice as central to reproductive decisions.

  • Dietz:

    • Critiques the framing of selective abortion as purely individual choice, pointing out that these decisions occur within structurally ableist systems that constrain autonomy.

    • Argues for a broader systemic perspective that challenges the societal conditions shaping reproductive decisions, rather than isolating them as personal choices​