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  1. A Moorean argument for the full moral status of those with profound intellectual disability.Benjamin Curtis & Simo Vehmas - 2016 - Journal of Medical Ethics 42 (1):41-45.
    This paper is about the moral status of those human beings with profound intellectual disabilities (PIDs). We hold the common sense view that they have equal status to ‘normal’ human beings, and a higher status than any non-human animal. We start with an admission, however: we don’t know how to give a fully satisfying theoretical account of the grounds of moral status that explains this view. And in fact, not only do we not know how to give such an account, (...)
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  2. On Moral Status.Benjamin L. Curtis & Simo Vehmas - 2021 - In Simo Vehmas & Reetta Mietola (eds.), Narrowed Lives: Meaning, Moral Value, and Profound Intellectual Disability. pp. 185-212.
     
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  3.  45
    Disability as a test of justice in a globalising world.Matti Häyry & Simo Vehmas - 2015 - Journal of Global Ethics 11 (1):90-98.
    This paper shows how most modern theories of justice could require or at least condone international aid aimed at alleviating the ill effects of disability. Seen from the general viewpoint of liberal egalitarianism, this is moderately encouraging, since according to the creed people in bad positions should be aided, and disability tends to put people in such positions. The actual responses of many theories, including John Rawls's famous view of justice, remain, however, unclear. Communitarian, liberal egalitarian, and luck egalitarian thinkers (...)
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  4. Is it wrong to deliberately conceive or give birth to a child with mental retardation?Simo Vehmas - 2002 - Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 27 (1):47 – 63.
    This paper discusses the issues of deciding to have a child with mental retardation, and of terminating a pregnancy when the future child is known to have the same disability. I discuss these problems by criticizing a utilitarian argument, namely, that one should act in a way that results in less suffering and less limited opportunity in the world. My argument is that future parents ought to assume a strong responsibility towards the well-being of their prospective children when they decide (...)
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  5. Just ignore it? Parents and genetic information.Simo Vehmas - 2001 - Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 22 (5):473-484.
    This paper discusses whether prospectiveparents ought to find out about their geneticconstitution for reproductive reasons. It isargued that ignoring genetic information can bein line with responsible parenthood or perhapseven recommendable. This is because parenthoodis essentially an unconditional project inwhich parents ought to commit themselves tonurturing any kind of child. Besides, thetraditional reasons offered for theunfortunateness of impairments and the tragicfate of families with disabled children are notconvincing. Other morally problematic outcomesof genetics, such as discrimination againstindividuals with impairments, and limiting freeparental (...)
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  6.  83
    Dimensions of Disability.Simo Vehmas - 2004 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 13 (1):34-40.
    This article attempts to clarify the concept of disability by explaining the ways in which it has been applied, and defined, by both philosophers and disability scholars. Conceptual approaches to disability can be divided into two main categories: the individualistic and the social approaches. In the individualistic framework, disability is seen as an individual condition that results in a disadvantaged position regarding civic, economic, and personal flourishing. This is the dominant view of disability in bioethics. According to the social approaches, (...)
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  7. Assent and selective abortion: a response to Rhodes and Häyry.Simo Vehmas - 2001 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 10 (4):433-40.
     
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  8.  71
    Disability, Harm, and the Origins of Limited Opportunities.Simo Vehmas & Tom Shakespeare - 2014 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 23 (1):41-47.
  9. Profound Intellectual Disability and the Bestowment View of Moral Status.Simo Vehmas & Benjamin Curtis - 2017 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 26 (3):505-516.
    This article engages with debates concerning the moral worth of human beings with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMDs). Some argue that those with such disabilities are morally less valuable than so-called normal human beings, whereas others argue that all human beings have equal moral value and so each group of humans ought to be treated with equal concern. We will argue in favor of a reconciliatory view that takes points from opposing camps in the debates about the moral worth (...)
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  10. Parental responsibility and the morality of selective abortion.Simo Vehmas - 2002 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 5 (4):463-484.
    It is now a common opinion in Western countries that a child's impairment would probably place an unexpected burden on her parents, a burden that the parents have not committed themselves to dealing with. Therefore, selective abortion is in general a morally justified option for the parents. I argue that this view is based on biased information about the quality of life of individuals with impairments and their families. Also, a conscious decision to procreate should bring about conscious assent to (...)
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  11. Moral Worth and Severe Intellectual Disability – A Hybrid View.Benjamin L. Curtis & Simo Vehmas - 2013 - In Jerome E. Bickenbach, Franziska Felder & Barbara Schmitz (eds.), Disability and the Good Human Life. Cambridge University Press. pp. 19-49.
    Consider: You can save either a human or a normal adult dog from a burning building (with no risk to yourself and at little cost), but not both. However, the human is a human with a severe intellectually disability (or, as we shall say, a “SID”). -/- Which one should you save? There is disagreement in the literature about which this issue. Two opposing camps exist, which we call “the intrinsic property camp ” and “the special relations camp.” Those in (...)
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  12.  56
    The Moorean argument for the full moral status of those with profound intellectual disability: a rejoinder to Roberts.Benjamin Curtis & Simo Vehmas - 2016 - Journal of Medical Ethics 42 (4):266-267.
    In a recent paper we argued that a Moorean strategy can be employed to justify our continuing to believe the following proposition, even in the presence of philosophical views that entail it is false, without any philosophical argument against those views, and without any positive philosophical argument in its favour: -/- H>A: Humans have an equal moral status that is higher than the moral status of non-human animals. -/- The basic idea is that our confidence in the truth of this (...)
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  13.  31
    Live and Let Die? Disability in Bioethics.Simo Vehmas - 2003 - New Review of Bioethics 1 (1):145-157.
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  14. The who or what of Steve: severe cognitive impairment and its implications.Simo Vehmas - 2010 - In Matti Häyry, Tuija Takala, Peter Herissone-Kelly & Gardar Árnason (eds.), Arguments and Analysis in Bioethics. Amsterdam: Brill | Rodopi.
     
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  15.  38
    (1 other version)Response to “Abortion and Assent” by Rosamond Rhodes (CQ Vol 8, No 4) and “Abortion, Disability, Assent, and Consent” by Matti Häyry (CQ Vol 10, No 1) Assent and Selective Abortion: A Response to Rhodes and Häyry. [REVIEW]Simo Vehmas - 2001 - Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 10 (4):433-440.