Quote:
Originally posted by clifclav
It was a very difficult discussion for the entire family that they still haven't fully resolved. The general belief was that if she wanted to do it with a very close friend who was also disabled then the family would "allow" (tough word choice there) it while making sure that it was protected and comfortable. I don't believe anything has happened yet.
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It's a very taboo and controversial topic because it is steeped with ethical issues. I don't think this is something the country, or even the state, should decide since each situation is so completely different from the next. I think it's something to be discussed by whomever is taking care of the mentally retarded person/people.
For instance, if a mother finds her fetus has Down Syndrome, it should be up to her to decide to keep it or not. Children with DS can live a happy life, however they will be dependent upon a caretaker or group home. If you can get past the controversy of abortion, then you're faced with the ethical issue of "who are you to decide if a child with mental retardation will be happy or not?" And I think the truth of the matter is it depends on each situation emotionally, physically, and financially.
Or another example would be two adults with DS. While they probably don't count as consenting adults legally, who are you to decide if they are allowed to breed or not? If they were to successully breed, their child can come out completely normal and healthy.
You also have to be careful with your definition of disabled. Deaf people don't see themselves as disabled (personally, neither do I), yet our country tells them they are. Then there are the para/quadrapalegics who may not be mentally retarded and have full reproductive capabilities. Or the people who are paras/quads with mental retardation that was caused by an accident and still wants to have children with his/her wife.
What do you do then?
I don't think there is any one blanket statement that will suffice for this topic except that each situation needs to be considered individually. For me, I don't know what I would do if I had an SO that became mentally retarded (DS, accident, etc.) or disabled (schizophrenia, bipolar, etc.), but how much I loved that person would weigh heavily into my decision.