Saving Deaf Children? Screening for Hearing loss as a Public-interest Case

This article uses a critical lens to study the archive of the g overnment child healthcare organization in Flanders in order to uncover underlying constructions of childhood, deafness, and preventive health. We focus on two interrelated themes. The first is the notion of exclusion of the human factor through the mediation of technology. The second is the idea of deafness as endangering a healthy development, an impairment that can nevertheless be treated if detected early enough. It is argued that, since deafness cannot be viewed as a life-threatening condition, the public interest which is implicitly defended is not the rescue of deaf children rather the exclusion of otherness.

Source: Journal of Bioethical Inquiry - October 18, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research