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Disability Advocates in Ireland Seek Better Law on Informed Consent
By Andrea Shettle, MSW | August 25, 2008
Disability advocates in Ireland are lobbying to change the law so that people with intellectual disabilities can have more support when deciding what medical treatment to pursue, the Irish Times has reported ("Disability group seeks change in law on informed consent"). Under the current law, according to the Irish Times, the right to make decisions on one’s own can be taken away. Advocates suggest that the more appropriate approach would be to explore the possibilities of "supported" or "assisted" decision making. Advocates want Irish law to be more consistent with the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The CRPD is the first international, legally-binding treaty to protect the human rights of people with disabilities. It covers a wide range of human rights such as the right to live in the community (not an institution); the right to employment; the right to marry, divorce, and share equally in child custody; the right to accessible education, health care, and public transportation; and many more. Article 12 protects the right to legal capacity–the right to make one’s own choices about how to lead one’s own life.
Read more about the proposed changes in Irish law at:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2008/0805/1217628546590.html
Read about other changes in Ireland as a result of the CRPD in the earlier RatifyNow post entitled Reaching for Freedom.
Learn more about the CRPD and the accompanying Optional Protocol by skimming the RatifyNow FAQ.
Find out if your country has signed or ratified the CRPD at http://www.un.org/disabilities/countries.asp?navid=12&pid=166
Learn how you can become involved with the global campaign to promote the ratification and implementation of the CRPD and Optional Protocol in your country and elsewhere.
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