The paradox of "normal"

Penn State University professor and author Michael Berube, writing in Toronto’s Globe and Mail, asks whether widespread prenatal screening is a reflection of society’s negative views of people with disabilities.

An excerpt:

“ … as a society and as a species, we still don't seem to know what "normal" really is. We could think of the norm as (a) what's left over when we get rid of all the abnormalities, or (b) nothing more than the statistical mean in a fully inclusive society that incorporates every single one of us into public life to the greatest extent possible.

"I prefer (b) myself, and I think you should too; but I worry that uncritical advocates of prenatal screening are thinking in terms of (a). Which leaves us with a bitter paradox -- that even though we haven't begun to explore the ways in which we could include people with disabilities in our society, we devote precious time and resources to developing better ways of spotting them before they are born."

The whole piece can be accessed here.