[Ethics and handicap]

The deprivation of numerous possibilities suffered by the severely-handicapped on account of their somato-psychic deficiency extends to many areas: mobility, relationships, autonomy in their everyday life, dependency, psychological or even mental consequences. The most elementary ethics would require to take all these deprivations into account, not just in the choice of accommodation structures but also in the behaviour of relatives and friends, or of qualified members of staff, in their approach to the handicapped. The range of application of these ethical rules must therefore extend from the quality of life and assistance, and the concern for efficiency of interventions, to the problems of security and securization, the assessment and the prevention of risks deriving from the handicap or its consequences, through the information of the patients regarding their elementary or specific rights, the introduction of the most favourable basis in order to make sure that they enjoy the dignity due to any human being, whatever his condition. Such a vast program requires a great many means of action, which all imply the recourse to the appropriate material and human assistance.