ABSTRACT
One way to start making positive changes is to bring more disabled women and disabled people into the public policy debate. Prenatal screening encourages people to overlook the social policy that is based on the fact that disability can be managed through technology, early intervention programs for very young disabled children, social support systems, and social change. In the context of prenatal screening, the implicit and explicit perceptions about disability and disabled people are worth examining. Literature and promotional materials focus on the benefits to prospective parents of knowing that they will have a “normal, healthy” baby. Implicit is that a child with a disability is neither normal nor healthy. Disabled women are a significant group with a stake in specific and unique reproductive rights issues. In the context of prenatal screening, the implicit and explicit perceptions about disability and disabled people are worth examining.
