Legal Peripheries: Medical Welfare and Human Rights Models

This essay provides a comparative analysis of the medical welfare model and the human rights model of disability. It begins by defining the medical welfare model, which views disability as a medical condition requiring treatment and focuses on medical improvements to enable individuals to live a more normal life. The essay then introduces the human rights model, emphasizing the impact of societal barriers and discrimination on the lives of disabled people, advocating for equal rights and opportunities. The discussion includes examples like dyslexia to illustrate the models, advocating for reasonable accommodations and equitable access to services. The essay references the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and discusses the evolution from exclusion to freedom and rights, highlighting the importance of self-determination, non-consensual sterilization, sign language interpreters, and compassionate homicide. The goal is to demonstrate how disability equity has become a standard in international agreements and Canadian jurisprudence.

Running Header: Medical welfare and Human Rights Model of Disability 1
Explain and Compare Medical Welfare Model of Disability and Human Rights Model of
Disability with Examples

Medical welfare and Human Rights Model of Disability 2
Explain and Compare Medical Welfare Model of Disability and Human Rights Model of
Disability with Examples.
A difference in the human body that is not illness nor pain but a difference from the rest
is referred to as medical welfare model of disability. Life quality of the patient is greatly reduced
by the disability. This form of disability leads to medical improvement to reduce effect and give
the disabled people a normal life.
Lack of having some functional parts of the body results to disability and therefore some
services are unavailable for them. This leads to human rights model of disability due to physical
barriers that have been brought about by development that has been done. This lowers their
function ability on how to go about their daily activities.
The kind of life that the disabled live is full of discrimination where they are neither
offered jobs nor places designated for them to pass on highways in most places. This makes their
lives not to be as normal as the rest of the people. They are mostly not treated as the rest of the
people and this brings disparity. Though some effort have been made to ensure that they are able
to access everywhere through legislation. Tokenism like ramp construction in all building for the
disabled has been done in many parts of the world (Rowlands & Amy, 2019, p. 238).
An example of a medical model of disability is dyslexia. Dyslexic people are usually
slower in writing and understanding things. This people should be taken as normal people and if
one needs the job done then they should be added sometime or given earlier before others. This
will ensure that they will catchup with the rest of the people in the society.

Medical welfare and Human Rights Model of Disability 3
Buildings should have at least a ramp and a staircase this will enable the people who are
using the wheel chair to access every office in that building. This brings equity where everyone
can have access the services they want no matter the height. The introduction of a ramp ties to
equalize all people through compliancy.
The disabled people have equal ability as the normal people. The reaction towards them
should not be determined by their look or mode of speech. However, they should be
accommodated as part of the society. No one who should take advantage of them nor undermine
their ability to offer quality services.
References
Justin Anthony Haegele & Samuel Hodge. (2016). Disability disclosure: Overview and critiques
of the medical and social model. 68(2), 193-206.
Nina A Kohn & Jeremy A Blumenthal. (2014). A critical assessment of supported decision-
making for persons aging with intellectual disabilities: Disability and health journal.
7(1), 40-43.
Sam Rowlands & Jean-Jacques Amy. (2019). Sterilization of those with intellectual disability:
Evolution from non-consensual interventions to restrict safeguards. 23(2), 233-249
Theresia Degener. (2016). A human right model of disability: Routledge handbook of disability
law and human rights, 44-66.