Ethics, disability and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Abstract

This article offers preliminary reflections on the potential application of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) to the developing literature on disability ethics. As an epidemiologic tool--an international standard language of functioning and disability--the ICF has instrumental ethical significance as its application is governed by standard bioethical concerns of informed consent, confidentiality, and respect for persons. However, the ICF also has an intrinsic ethical significance, so far untapped, arising from three conceptual features of its model of functioning and disability, namely universalism, the interactional model, and etiologic neutrality. The future of the ethical dimension of ICF is briefly explored.