Parenting And The Rights Of The Developmentally Disabled...

I guess I have to ask this in the form of a question. So I'll just ask what your views are on the matter. And do you agree with mine.

But you know, the developmentally disabled usually have the exact same rights that we all do. Some still think they shouldn't. But they have the right to vote, to drive. Actually in the case of driving, it would probably be better to consult a doctor than, say, a police officer. Because many other symptoms they have may just seem like intelletual difficulties.

And everyone has the right to be a parent. But with developmentally disabled people, we have to consider the rights of the child too.

Now this is what I believe. They should be carefully screened first. And there should be a cut off point for the parents' mental age. I'm thinking a mental age of ten. And I think even that is generous.

Thoughts?

 

I think that for the most part it seems unnecessary to have laws or screenings pertaining to this. If they are so badly challenged that they would not pass such a screening it is doubtful that they are likely to pass a driving test in order to get a license or be away from a caregiver long enough to make a baby. If someone were to have sex with someone so severely disabled as to have such a low mental age, then that person should be charged with statutory rape because the disabled person would be unable to give informed consent.

 

I suppose their rights should be commensurate with their abilities to handle the vagaries of their individual lives, albeit to be determined by those who love and care for them.

 

If everyone thought like you, life would be a whole lot simpler. We have too many rules for the sake of rules in todays' society

 

Thanks, brother.

 

Political correctness drives me crazy, particularly the case where a politician was forced to resign when he said that a situation was not black and white. Did no one stop and think that the origin of this saying was black ink on white paper.
If the green men landed from Mars, our politicians would probably rush out and turn and turn all the traffic signals off.

My favourite example was when Gandhi was thrown off a white peoples bus in south Africa. His reply was, "I am not black, I am brown. Just as you are not white, but a dirty shade of pink". He nearly ended up behind bars for that one.

 

Anyways I just wanted to add. I still think developmentally disabled people should be screened if they want to become parents. But maybe screened is too strong a word. Because you know, there is more than one way a person can be screened. Plus you know some of these people do just need a little help childrearing, physically and financially. And they should be periodically monitored. Did you feed the baby? Did you change his diaper. And they should look for signs of abuse.