Do you think adults with down syndrome should be "allowed" to have a family?

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morgan
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Or should they be sterilized?

(this post is a spin off from the mentally disabled adult thread. several members here believe she should be forced to give an abortion even though she DOES NOT WANT ONE).
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mater-three
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I think it’s not always as simple as that...
29again
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I know there are some adults with Downs who get married to each other.

Honestly, I think sometimes the best thing to do with a Downs teen is to make sure they can't get pregnant IF you as the parent don't want that added responsibility. And then, one of my co-workers is a younger girl whose parents were not fully mentally capable adults. (She has never explained exactly, and I never asked, but she has told me they weren't capable of raising a child. Thank God, she was adopted at around 14 by a great family and has turned out to be a wonderful young lady!) Parents need to realize that their mentally challenged children will grow up and have all the urges that a "normal" adult has. Either deal with that, or take steps to prevent outcomes you can't deal with. Because forcing abortions on mentally challenged adults is not the way to handle this.

I think that some Downs adults can handle a family, with some outside help. I think it depends more on the severity of the Downs and the support system the adult has.
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no one should be sterilized or forced to abort their child but if they are capable of raising them is another question. it depends on the severity and their level of functioning. but if they have a legal guardian who is willing to co- parent I don't see why they cant have a relationship with their own child.

there are many people with down syndrome who live mostly independent lives, they work, get married and live on their own. most have some sort of support network. it depends.
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There is a range of mental disability when it comes to those with down syndrome (as with other mental disabilities). The majority of those with down syndrome have mild to moderate mental disability and less frequently, have severe mental disability. While I think that those with mild and some with moderate mental disability can potentially have children (most males with down syndrome are sterile and there is a 30%-50% chance that a woman with down will give birth to a child with down) there would have to be support. Those with lower "moderate" and severe mental disabilities IMO should not have a family. All parents of adults with mental disabilities that I know, ensure that there is no pregnancy with birth control. I am personally against sterilizing the mentally disabled but do understand the difficulties that some caregivers have with dealing with periods and there is the dramatically increased risk of sexual assault and pregnancy.

Most facilities I know (both private and public) for adults with mental disabilities do require the adults in their charge to be on birth control. It's a complicated issue that can't be answered with a simple "yes" or "no". I think it's important that extra care be given to mentally disabled adults so that they are not exploited.
BionicBunny
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Should they be forced to have an abortion 22 weeks into that baby growing in her body? When she says she wants her baby should she be forced into aborting that child from her womb. Does this person not have rights to her own body because she isn’t as mentally advanced as you are?
Oh and to add an interesting question I saw in the other post, if the answer is no she shouldn’t have the right to make a decision on her body and should be forced into an abortion after expressing not wanting one then should an actual child around that age( 6-9) have the right to decide their gender? Is that child capable of making such decisions?
CandTmom
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Nobody should be sterilized. I don't think just having downs syndrome means you aren't capable of raising children. There are people with no mental or physical problems that shouldn't have kids. You can't judge how someone will parent until they are actually doing it.
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Lexy
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CandTmom wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 5:48 pm Nobody should be sterilized. I don't think just having downs syndrome means you aren't capable of raising children. There are people with no mental or physical problems that shouldn't have kids. You can't judge how someone will parent until they are actually doing it.
100% agree
Maggie
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I don’t feel like anyone should be sterilized unless that’s the choice they’ve made. This includes those that are mentally disabled. Even the disabled are in charge of their own bodies.
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Inmybizz
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Forced sterilization, no. Some are capable and some may not be capable.
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