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Yes, but it's a slippery slope. We might consider MS a disability today and abort a fetus. Tomorrow, we might abort a fetus with a 90% chance of having red hair. What we perceive to be a disability is a moving target.
I believe it is the right of the parents to choose. On saying this, I think doctors need to be sure their patient knows all the different alternatives, costs involved, different support groups, and marital advice, and as much about the dissability as possible so the parents can make a better decision. What one person can deal with another person can't.I know people are already making these decisions and totally support their decision either way, having had the joy of working with the disabled, but also seeing the strain it can put on the support people. But the option needs to remain available.
Edit: Of course we should. I'm all for pre-life euthanasia. In fact, I do believe that these abortions should be forced. The only problem is that's very very hard to push into law.
Is convenience more important than human lives? Why is convenience so great? If you ask me, it's completely overrated. It makes us unused to working for anything, or being patient with anything. Besides that, isn't a human life important? At least more important than the convenience of other humans? Would you want your life to be taken away, prevented, whatever, just because it would inconvenience others or because someone decided FOR YOU that it wasn't worthwhile?
Besides all that, isn't it just a tiny bit controlling for the government to decide whether or not someone can have a disabled child?
Abortion is a somewhat confusing issue; I don't pretend to know the exact right answer or explanation of what I think. Nonetheless, here is what I think:
Even though the life is not fully developed, it is still a human life, a being who, if he/she doesn't already(I don't really know), will have thoughts, emotions, acts of compassion, of anger, of carelessness, etc. Why would you want to take that from someone?
Who are you to say that:
1. That person doesn't get to live life. and, 2. That mother and father don't get to have a child they want to have?
If they were actually strong and willing enough they wouldn't receive all the special care that they do.
but they do. Lets face it, if we could stop the birth of disabled people, the world would be a much happier place. And it's abortion; it's not like we're killing them as they come out.
Are you saying most or even all disabled persons are miserable and a "hassel"?
Not only is that monumentally offensive, it's untrue. If you are basing this on the fact that you would be miserable if you had a disability, then that is a sign of your own weak character but in no way a reflection on others.
There is a lovely little girl who comes to my dog park with her father. She doesn't have a dog, but just comes to play. She has a myriad of disorders, and will have to be cared for her entire life. But, she is happy. Her father is happy. And I could not imagine her ever saying, gosh I wish I had never been born.
I happen to think that proportionally, there are more depressed "normal" people than disabled. The character of a disabled person is truly amazing, and is probably a direct result of their trials.
Ah, yes, the view that Ignorance is Bliss. Unfortunately, it's only bliss for those who have it. For the people surrounding them, it is annoying.
And what about physical handicaps? Are you saying they wouldn't be any happier without them?
Mentally handicapped provide very little for society and are only a dead weight. If we had the ability to reduce it, it would be our responsibility to do so.
1. There's no such thing as a soul. So no, it's not a disability.
2. Fine. Let the abortion be a choice. But, it should be highly encouraged and available until 9 months without hesitation.
3. Retards and senile old people are very ignorant.
4. They are a burden and are burdened themselves. If we can stop this from happening before they come to life, it would be very irresponsible to not do so. But, a heart warming tale about a retard is still good for movies and books, so that's why i change my view on whether it should be forced or not. Everyone loves a good retard flick.
It's mercy killing? Can you define what mercy killing is?
I'm not attacking you to win a debate. I'm letting you know that if you have a certain set of mental disorders, your judgemnet is compromised. So I don't care if you get help, but to be an effective debater, you should understand "normal" opinions matter most.
Definitely not. Who are we to say that someone else's life is worthless, just because of a disability? Obviously their lives will be difficult, but they still experience emotions, thoughts, and have friends and family relationships. They show affection, they care about others, and even the most severe cases communicate, if you pay enough attention.
I have a younger brother who is severely disabled, that's how I know these things.
The only case in which I think a disabled person should be aborted is if the woman's life is in danger, and if the baby will most likely not survive for more than a painful hour(see the late term abortion debate, iamdavidh's comment. Thanks btw, David, for letting me know about that disease. I would never have fully been aware of the late term abortion argument if you hadn't mentioned that.).
If the questions is personal, "Can I take care of this child?", "Do I want to give birth to this child?", "Is my child's disability too severe?", et cetera... Then the answer is personal.
If the question is economical, "Can I afford to care for this child?", then the answer is Yes. Government,I feel, is an insurance policy. A lot of these diseases have the potential to happen to anyone, and so as a society we should care for them.
Why should we say to a mother who's child has a chromosomal disease that she must abort, but a mother who's baby looks "fine" gets to keep hers. There are still disabilities that occur later in life, some not so late.
Many "disabled" persons make great contributions to society. And modern science has helped to raise their quality of life, and hasthe potential to go further.
There is a fine line between rationality and cruelty.
I think this should be a personal choice, up to the mother or couple.
Absolutely NOT! Who are we to decide who will live and who will not live? And how far do we go with what constitutes a disability? Who is to decide that? The only exception I can think of right now is if the child is going to be born a complete vegetable. Perhaps under those circumstances it would be right to do but no others I can think of. People with disabilities contribute to our society on a daily basis. Every year I buy my calendars and greeting cards from a business called the "Foot and Mouth Painting Artists." You should see the kind of craft they put out! They are and have been disabled...shall we simply have thrown them away as a waste to society? I think not. I know many people in the world who have all their faculties and limbs and they're absolutely a drain on normal society. I'd just as soon we put them to the side and keep all the disabled people in the mainstream if possible.
If I were able to "design" my baby, I would like him/her to not have any of my own disabilities. But I have to say "no". This is because I know what some people are doing to make autism a thing of the past. It's ugly.
