The most basic of human rights, the right to life, is the focus of this book. 'Human rights' has increasingly come to be seen as a significant framework, both to aid understanding of the experiences of those who face oppression, and to underpin social, legal and political measures to counter it. Disabled People and the Right to Life uses this framework to explore how disabled people's right to life is understood in different national contexts and the ways in which they are - or are not - afforded protection under the law, emphasizing the social, cultural and historical forces and circumstances which have promoted disabled people's right to life or legitimated its violation. Written by an international panel of contributors including individuals holding public office, academics from the fields of law, social policy, disability studies and bioethics as well as practitioners and activists attempting to further disabled people's human rights, this truly interdisciplinary book will be of interest to students and researchers of disability, law, social policy and human rights.

The most basic of human rights, the right to life, is the focus of this book. 'Human rights' has increasingly come to be seen as a significant framework, both to aid understanding of the experiences of those who face oppression, and to underpin social, legal and political measures to counter it. Disabled People and the Right to Life uses this framework to explore how disabled people's right to life is understood in different national contexts and the ways in which they are - or are not - afforded protection under the law, emphasizing the social, cultural and historical forces and circumstances which have promoted disabled people's right to life or legitimated its violation. Written by an international panel of contributors including individuals holding public office, academics from the fields of law, social policy, disability studies and bioethics as well as practitioners and activists attempting to further disabled people's human rights, this truly interdisciplinary book will be of interest to students and researchers of disability, law, social policy and human rights.

Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition of the ways in which disabled children and adults have been denied human and civil rights that others take for granted. In the year 2000, the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force. This book reviews the implications of the Act for disabled people. The book provides: an overview of key policy and legislative developments in the UK in relation to disabled children and adults in the post war period; an outline of the European Convention on Human Rights, The Human Rights Act 1998 and related procedures; an account of the ways in which disabled people's human rights have increasingly become a matter of concern and the implications of the Human Rights Act in relation to specific issues; a debate about the ways in which public bodies and practitioners within them can engage positively with the provisions of the Human Rights Act to develop better practice. Disabled people and human rights will be of interest to both disabled people themselves and organisations representing their interests, professionals whose work brings them into contact with disabled people, and students of social work, social care, disability studies and law.

Now in its completely updated second edition, this accessible guide provides essential information about how the law can be used to promote good practice and policy development for disabled children and young people. The authors take an anti-discriminatory and inclusive approach that involves parents and children in decision-making and advocacy. They summarise recent research on common needs and problems of disabled children, young adults and their families, and what support services are valued by them. Individual chapters cover issues affecting children at different stages in the lifecourse, including receiving diagnosis, ensuring educational and social inclusion, and establishing autonomy and independence in early adulthood. The overlapping legal responsibilities of social services, health and education are explained and changes arising from the Children Act 2004 are highlighted. Disabled Children and the Law is an essential reference for practitioners, policy makers, students and families.