About Maya Sabatello
Maya Sabatello is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Columbia University’s Center on Research of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic and Behavioral Genetics. A lawyer with a PhD in political science, she previously litigated cases of medical malpractice and has worked as a legal adviser to national and international nongovernmental organizations to promote health-related human rights. As a Permanent Representative for a nongovernmental organization at the United Nations, she participated in the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The concept of rights is central to disability studies: it reflects the clearest recognition of persons with disabilities as subjects under the law who are empowered to demand, on an equal basis with others, what they are entitled to as an integral part of the human race. This understanding marks a stark shift-and a crucial development-from the historical conceptualization of persons with disabilities as objects who lack reason and ability to make decisions, and hence who cannot be bearers of rights.