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Article 8 : The Right to Life, Survival and Development

Information Sheet

Prepared by the International Disability Caucus

The right to life, survival and development:

People with disabilities at all stages of life, particularly newborn babies are killed based on their disability. Some bioethicists argue that some newborns are not considered to have legal personhood because of the absence of a certain level of cognitive ability. Accordingly, they do not have any rights whatsoever, including the right to life, survival and development.

In addition, it is argued that people with disabilities are “suffering” or have a perceived low quality of life, and therefore it is in their best interest to die.; for example there are cases of deafblind children being left to die.

Persons with disabilities are often faced with low expectations and constraints which inhibit their individual development as formulated in article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Securing the safety of persons with disabilities under natural and humanitarian disasters including wars and armed conflict:

It is important to underline situations where the lives of persons with disabilities are particularly at risk. One example would be that there was very little information about people with disabilities in the recent Tsunami disaster. People with disabilities are not receiving aid or medical assistance and have probably been left to die.

The Caucus Text uses the word “secure the safety of” instead of the word “protect” since forms of protection can be and are construed to mean protecting persons with disabilities from suffering by ending their life.

here are various ways of dealing the placement of this issue We propose either moving it in a separate article focusing on situations of particular risk, or placing in article 4 as a general obligation.