Sterilizing a Child, for a Better Life

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/09/sterilizing-a-child-for-a-better-life/279765/



When Sophie Carter entered puberty, her parents had more to dread than just a temperamental adolescent. Sophie is now 31 but still has the intellectual capacity of a three-year-old. There were no concerns about drugs or boyfriends and no chance of having “the talk” about sex with her. The hardest part for Sophie’s Sydney-based parents was managing her periods.

“She has an older sister and a younger sister and we tried to get her to use pads, but it just didn’t work,” said Merren Carter, Sophie’s mother.

“People talk about stigma associated with menstruation but there was none of that at our house. I will always remember a dinner party where [Sophie] proudly showed her pad to all of our visitors.”

Merren and her husband, John Carter, put Sophie on Depo Provera birth control for five years. However, John, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Sydney was concerned about the long-term risks of osteoporosis associated with the hormonal contraception. They began looking for an alternative solution. At first they considered endometrial ablation, a procedure that destroys the lining of the uterus, and reduces menstrual flow. They received approval from the Guardianship Tribunal of New South Wales, a governmental body that determines consent for special medical treatments for adults who are incapable of making their own decisions.

[enlightenment]

1. I think they made the right decision.

We put entirely too much focus on reproduction. Not everyone can - and not everyone should - have children. The comment of one parent in that article says it perfectly: "Advocates who say she has the ‘right’ to have a child need to factor in her ability to be RESPONSIBLE for that child."

If women are not breeding machines, then there should be a recognition that not every woman who can conceive should conceive.

[xchrom]

2. growing up my best friend's brother was mentally challenged - pretty badly

when he became a young adult he married -- both he and the young lady he married were sterilized.

it is an extremely difficult conversation within a family unit though.

[enlightenment]

3. My younger brother is not mentally challenged

pretty much the opposite, in fact - but he has a condition similar to Marfan's Syndrome. It has a genetic component, so he decided at a young age that it would be irresponsible for him to pass that along. He had himself sterilized before he was 30. It was the right decision.

It's not an easy discussion, particularly when you are making the decision for someone who cannot give informed consent - and it doesn't help when people jump on their high horses and start shrieking incoherently about "eugenics" (which is inevitably the case).

[gopiscrap]

4. those poor parents

I agree with them but even if I didn't, we need to have the grace as a people to understand their struggle and their choices.

[Warpy]

5. Sometimes it's the right decision

We wouldn't expect a three year old toddler to cope with fertility, why would we expect someone older who functions only on that level to?

The saddest case I ever saw was a profoundly retarded 33 year old, so retarded the higher brain functions had never asserted themselves with a social smile or recognition of familiar faces. She hit puberty and her father pimped her out. She had produced 3 children, all profoundly retarded and also institutionalized.

I don't think her daddy went to jail, either.