lagunita
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was going to post something around this topic - 2008/03/23 17:38
I was going to post a new topic around this, but Karl beat me to it  .
This is a big deal in the deaf community. They liken deafness to not speaking the local language.
But it's not isolated to them. Some people don't want to have DNA screening/testing for themselves or their children. "Would you want to know if...?" and they don't want to know.
In training to be a mentor (an alternative to guardianship for developmentally disabled or mentally handicapped persons), I was told that these clients have the right to a driver's license, and also have the right to marry.
Having the right to marry implies the right to having children. There is a good probability that the children of such disabled parents would likewise be disabled.
Whatever you think of people deliberately procreating mentally disabled individuals, if the state were to ban such things, such action could smack of social Darwinism.
Some observers would go so far as pointing to a certain notorious mustached historical figure standing in front of a swastika as being the poster person for this effort.
Yet, if one believes that society has to make sometimes painful choices, some kind of testing may be inevitable. We know that the likelihood of autism is high. A pre-IVF test and selection would be one of the most humane and least controversial ways to accomplish this. We'll soon be able to genetically profile all kinds of diseases.
A child born with a debilitating disability has no say in its creation. Perhaps the politicians should poll the disabled community about their thoughts on this matter.
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