Sterilizing Special Needs Children

[BrandiCanucks]

As a parent with a special needs child, this is a topic close to me and highly debated among my support groups.

If you were a parent of a special needs child who was so severely cognitively and/or physically disabled that it left them vulnerable and unable to function in a 'normal' society, would you take the precaution of having them sterilized at puberty to prevent pregnancy or getting a girl pregnant? If so, why? If not, why not?

 

[Missy86]

I dont think so
I will be interested to hear other views

 

[polo_princess]

Good lord no, why would you need to go to such extreme to prevent them from producing another life? Why cant normal forms of contraception be used?

Also, if they are unable to function in a normal society would they really be having sex, let alone trying for a baby?


Sorry, not something i am comfortable with at all

 

[dizzyisacow]

i agree with pp

 

[impatient1]

I agree with PP as well.

 

[kirmal12]

If they are as disabled as you as saying, then the only way they will get pregnant or make somebody pregnant would be abuse by someone else I'm sorry to say and that is a very different topic altogether.

I work with children with severe disabilities and one or two of the girls have been put on the pill just to control their periods for mood swings, PMT etc not for birth control. If two adults with learning difficulties who are capable of having sex together are capable of having a child IMHO.

 

[aob1013]

I could never do that to my child, whatever their disabilty. Just no.

 

[BrandiCanucks]

You're right, if they are as severely cognitively disabled as I am implying, they would not be having intentional sex. But they are left open to vulnerability. What happens if they are raped or constantly sexually abused either by a stranger or by someone who works closely with them?

 

[PeanutBean]

Absolutely not.

 

[Pixxie]

Contraception yes but sterilisation, certainly not. xxx

 

[BlackBerry25]

No.

I think that person would most likely have adult supervision at all times, like a child, correct?

Like someone else said, it would be a case of abuse if they did get pregnant.

 

[BlackBerry25]

Another train of thought...I do know someone who is severely mentally handicapped and always talks about sex and wants it constantly. I have no idea what I would do if that person was my responsibility.

 

[kiwimama]

I think it is an easy answer to make when you don't have a child that is special needs and highly vunerable to being coerced and/ or abused. Honestly, I'm not sure what I would do, my immediate thought is "no way! That's just unacceptable!" But then if my child were severely disabled and unable to mentally understand what sex is... Such a hard situation to be in.

 

[marley2580]

I wouldn't as it feels morally wrong, but I would put her on long term contraception. I think that many mentally disabled people are, like many children, totally capable of, and interested in, having sex yet would be incapable of taking care of a baby.

 

[PeanutBean]

There are plenty of people who are not mentally disabled who are totally incapable of taking care of a child too.

If there is a danger to that individual person then I think the onus is on the care system to take sufficient care.

 

[smokey]

My mums friend has a daughter who is 20 but has the mental age of 8, she is very nieve and over trusting and cant look after herself and lives in a comunity home where they try to teach her to keep herself clean and cook and look after her own money but she isnt very good at it all and thats all the help she gets, its basicaly like living on her own with a HV coming to see her once a week to make sure she is still alive, she also goes to a comunity centre twice a week to have a hot meal and socialise.
Her mum cant take care of her because she has had her feet amputated due to diabieties and lives in a nursing home herself.
A few years back her social workers where talking about having her steralised beacuse she was at high risk of being abused or taken advantege of (there was a case of one of her home workers getting arrested because he was taking advantage of her), there is no way she would ever be able to take care of a baby and would actualy pose as a danger to a baby.
She has in the past fallen for the whole "if you do this ill be your friend" type of thing they thought it was for the best for her.
They didnt steralise her in the end but she has to have the injection contraception.

Its not realy about taking away choices or stoping them breeding another mentaly handicapped child, most of the time its the best thing for them.
Alot of the time they are adults with an adult body but the mind of a child or worse, some of them have no concept of how to behave or how others should behave or any idea about the changes in their body and alot of the time find it a very scary and traumatic experiance just going through puberty so why add to the confusion with a risk of pregnancy.
Also alot of the times these girl dont even knowabout pregnancy or that they could be and the pregnancy goes unknown about by social workers, family, dr's (thats if they are even lucky enough to have these as so many are lost in the system and dont have care or help) and end up in a birth down some ally and a risk to the life of the girl and baby.
Its not an exageration as it does happen.

Also there was a story a few years back about a girl that wasnt expected to live much beyond about age 15, she was both mentaly and physicaly disabled and her mother made a choice to have her steralised to stop her entering puberty or getting a period as emotionaly the girl wouldnt be able to understand or deal with the changes so sometimes it is for the best.

 

[v2007]

Far too extreme imho.

V xxxx

 

[rubixcyoob.]

I couldn't no. I would hate if someone done that to me so I couldn't do it to anyone else. I'd introduce long term contraception though, but tbh if they are as mentally or physically impared as you are stating they won't be having sex anyways - not being mean but I don't really think they would comprehaned just what sex entails anyways.

And to me, you cannot use the whole "they may be abused" arguement to justify sterilising someone. Anyone could end up being abused and pregnant so should we all jus be sterilised just in case? To me, a person would deal with that scenario as anyone else would - someone making the best decision for them without sterilising them.

 

[November1984]

I was just reading about some cases in which sterilization/hysterectomies are done on severely disabled children and young adults not necessarily to prevent pregnancy -- more for comfort (as the parents state).

For instance this was from a parent's mouth:

Mrs Thorpe said: "All we are trying to do is keep and improve Katie's quality of life.

"By stopping menstruation it's allowing Katie to enjoy life to the full without the problems of menstruation...the mood swings, the tears, the stomach cramps, the pain, the discomfort, the embarrassment."

What about that concept?

 

[BrandiCanucks]

I've seen that argument too, but honestly, still do not agree with it. My family has a history of early endometriosis as well, but I still wouldn't use that argument to justify sterilizing my daughter.

I don't know how Zoe is going to develop. Right now, she is a 20 month old trapped in a 3 and a half year old's body, and while that doesn't sound too bad, we don't know at the moment if, when she's 10 years old, she'll be 8 years old developmentally, or if she'll still only be 20 months old.

I personally would not want sterilization forced on me, and I don't feel it is right to force sterilization on a person who cognitively cannot understand puberty, let alone comprehend a major surgery. I would much rather put Zoe on birth control and teach her how to change her pads and take her pain medication properly. It would be much easier, in my opinion, for a "child" to understand and comprehend changing her pads for one week out of the month, and taking one or two Tylenol's for a few days out of the month than to teach them to take their hormone replacement therapy injections and pills every day because her parents threw her body nto premature menopause before it was ready.