Agency, the Capability Approach, and the ICF at the End-of-Life

Christopher A. Riddle

Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2025, vol. 26, issue 2, 316-325

Abstract: Although the aims of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) are primarily classificatory in nature, its utilisation as a social policy tool, in social security planning, compensation systems and policy design and implementation, is not uncommon. In this paper, I argue that the ICF fails to take into consideration the value of agency in the lives of people with disabilities and if it is intended to inform or create policy, the agency of people with disabilities must be given greater attention in our normative framework for social justice and equitable policy outcomes. I suggest that a respect for agency necessitates the supplementing of the ICF with the Capability Approach (CA) to permit individuals to plan and live a life (or die) according to their values. I suggest that many end-of-life options, such as the voluntary stopping of eating and drinking (VSED), passive euthanasia, and medical aid in dying, result in a complete lack of functioning, but that respect for agency requires the granting of wishes to hasten death.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/19452829.2025.2479035

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