- Global movement that advocates for equal rights for individuals with disabilities.
- Has had success in changing laws and social attitudes towards those with disabilites.
- Has roots in the 1960s, and grew along with the Women's Rights Movements and Civil Rights Movement.

Disability Rights Movement

- Disability Rights Organization that opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia for the disabled.
- Ensuring that the witholding of life-sustaining treatment is truly voluntary. and not being enforced my medical provider.

Not Dead Yet

- Organization that is odedicated to protecting the choice for the disabled to live in homes rather than nursing homes.
- Increasing accesibility for the disabled in public spaces.
- Critiquing the industrial realities that results in discrimination towards those with disabilities.

Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today

- Americans Disabled for Attendant Programs Today
- Disability Rights Movement
- Not Dead Yet

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Grinnell College

The history of end-of-life treatment within the context of disability history is characterized by the tension between the medical-ethical establishment and the disability rights movement. This history is primarily defined by:
- **Case Law:** Key judicial rulings—including *In re Quinlan* (1976), *Bouvia v. Superior Court* (1986), and *Washington v. Glucksberg* (1997)—that established legal boundaries around the right of individuals to refuse life-sustaining treatment and the prohibition of assisted suicide.
- **Movements & Organizations:** Grassroots organizations like **ADAPT** and **Not Dead Yet** that campaigned against assisted suicide and life-termination policies, arguing that such practices often reflect societal prejudice and devalue disabled lives.
- **Figures:** Key legal and bioethical scholars (e.g., Robert Burt and Susan Tolle) who analyzed the dynamics of patient autonomy, medical paternalism, and quality of life assessments.

History of End of Life Treatment in Disability History

Important Figures of Bioethics in Disability History

- When it came to the medical view of disabilities, it was difficult to understand disabilities through an emotional viewpoint. Instead, methodical developments to treat disabilities were developed (see "Important Figures of Bioethics in Disability History").
- During the late 1900s, many cases involving the medical professional's role in continuing or discontinuing treatment occured, which overall gave the family first say in these situations (see "Case Law Regarding Bioethics in Disability History")
- Organizations related to Disability rights began to develop, focusing on rights such as those with disabilities being able to refuse: assisted suicide, life-sustaining treatment, and living at the nursing home. (See Important Movements/Organizations of Bioethics in Disability History").

Summarization of End of Life Treatment in Disability History

This classification covers six end-of-life bioethics cases in disability history: the Karen Ann Quinlan case, Bouvia v. Superior Court, the David Rivlin case, Washington v. Glucksberg, the Terri Schiavo dispute, and the Barbara Howe case. Together, they examine conflicts involving patient autonomy, life-sustaining treatment, surrogate decision-making, and physician-assisted suicide.

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