Should severely retarded children be aborted at birth?

Question

i know its a tough question but i know some people that are majorly handicapped and their lives are miserable. i wonder if its just the selfishness of the parent that forces their child to live this way instead of putting them out of their misery at birth once they know the child will not have a decent life?

Answer 1

No they shouldnt, its murder, killing an innocent life, its not its fault its mentally handicapped.

Answer 2

NO!! no child should be aborted at birth.. that's murder.

You cannot tell at birth how severe a handicap is going to be.

Making an informed decision based on test results early on in the pregnancy is one thing, killing a baby who has already been born is another entirely.

Answer 3

Never.  That's cruel, a baby isn't to be punished, ever.  It's not up to us to decide on a human life's fate.

My sister was born mentally retarded due to lack of oxygen to the brain at birth.  She was always the most loving people, knew no hate.  Lived a beautiful life.  She wasn't severely retarded, but nonetheless, she was retarded.  

Low lifes have the mindset that a child would have a miserable life on earth, so they should snuffed out.

My sister is now dying of congestive heart and renal failure due to suffering strokes back in 8/04, nothing to do with being retarded.  She is still very much loved.

How about snuffing out everyone's life, b/c everyone is eventually going to die?  My Dad was just diagnosed with cancer last week.  

Yes, this is a highly sensitive issue for me.  I believe that all life is worth it, regardless of how short or challenged it may be.

Answer 4

as a teacher of students who have severe and profound disabilities, I won't waste your time with a big " they are people too" soap box speech...I will tell you that my students are not miserable, they are loved and want to be loved Just like everyone else.

Answer 5

No one can play God. If someone is born retarded or with birth defects then that is what God has planned for them. Maybe they will do something good in there life.

Answer 6

No. Thats is sick. Just because a person has a mental disabiltiy, doesnt mean they should be killed.How can u ask that. I am Reporting you.

Answer 7

We will never be able to know what a child's life will be like after birth no matter what disibility they might have. There are perfectly normal children who do not have very good lives for many different reasons as well. There are also children with disabilities who are happy. It is not up to us to to decide the fate of an unborn child and all children deserve a chance.

Answer 8

Actually, many illnesses are able to be detected far before birth (i.e. down syndrome, blood diseases), especially if there is a family history, and many women choose to have 1st trimester abortions.  Its not legal to kill a baby after birth.  That's murder.  I don't think its right to wait that long, and if  you stay through the 9 months, how could a woman consciously kill her baby?  It's just against all maternal instincts.  

I think its okay if they feel strongly about it to abort in the 1st trimester, when babies can be tested for things like down syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  However, once its screaming, crying breathing in the world, that's not okay.

Answer 9

No, i don't think that abortion should be done just because a baby isn't perfect.  If the parents get them help and take the time with the children they have a chance to have many good moments in life.  I have worked with children with special needs since I was 12 years old.  I have worked with Autism, Downsyndrom, Cerebal Palsy as well as many others including severe brain damage.  Killing a life just because they aren't what you think is perfect is wrong, a life is still a life and have special needs doesn't make them worthless or even miserable.  Some live in their own worlds in their head so they don't even know misery.  It is selfish for a person to kill a life because they aren't what they wanted them to be.  The only problem i could see aborting is a baby that has no brain at all because they really have no life but all others can still have a chance to live and teach us many lessons.

Answer 10

That is called a partial birth abortion and is looked at as unethical, and immoral.

Answer 11

You can't judge quality of life by outward appearance.

Answer 12

No, they should not. However, if the doctor told the mother about the severe retardation at the very first stage of pregnancy, I could definitely understand why she'd get an abortion.

I do not have any dislike for people with disabilities, but they are a burden and I do believe it takes certain people to take care of them.

Answer 13

no! God is the only one that should decide when a person's life will end. when children are aborted at birth, this is called partial birth abortion. I would consider this worse than regular abortion because you are killing an infant that is alive! if you would have just let it come out, it could have lived! you even heard it cry! that is just horrible! you say their lives are miserable, but they do not know any different. I'm not saying that they don't have hard lives, but this is definitely not a reason to kill someone!

Answer 14

honestly, I dont think it's that the parent is selfish at all...if anything theyre the opposite, because I guarentee you they dont want a life with a retarded kid and all of the extra baggage that will be brought with it...but they know they cant be SELFISH by simply rejecting it...

Answer 15

Saying that severely retarded children should be aborted at birth is like agreeing with Hitler's beginning idea of trying to eliminate the handicapped.

Everyone deserves the gift of life.

Answer 16

You do realize that you're talking about killing people, right? Are you stupid or just sick?

There is a reason for each one of us to be on this planet. Who are you to decide who lives and who dies?

That is completely wrong. If we were sick enough to start killing children with mental disabilities, who's to say we'd stop there?

Sounds to me like someone should put you out of your misery.

You people are so predictable. Every single person on Yahoo Answers who asks a question to annoy people blocks their email and IM. Cowards.

Answer 17

It's cruel to have the power over life, but I think that severely retarded children should be aborted. They will have no chances in life and will burden the parents, take money from the government, and be unnecessary consumers. I have compassion for the weak, but I think that the most compassionate thing would be to abort the severely retarded at birth.

Answer 18

That's why there is an option of adoption.

Today there is also lots of support services in the community to help families with their difficult times.

Answer 19

its not abortion if they are already born

its killing

the parent isnt selfish they don't want to KILL THEIR KID!

Answer 20

Just because you seem to not be able to handle a handicapped child doesnt mean others cant/wont. And the people that you know that are handicapped, how do you know they are miserable? I too know handicapped people and for the most part the family has a whole is just great and better than most. You are just mean.

Answer 21

First, if the baby is borned, you cannot abort it.

Deformed, or retarded babies that are born will be kept alive, on life support if necessary.

Abortions are legal up to about 6 months in womb.  After that, it takes a court order and doctor's agreement that the life of the mother is in danger to deliver the baby full-term.

Often there are some medical tests that can be done to an embryol or fetus  that alert parents that the future  baby may have some bad defects, but the decision to abort has to come before 6 months, or you get what nature brings.

Actually, about 1/3 of all pregnancies end in a spontaneous abortion, as nature has a way of eliminating the worse of genetic defects, that prevent a new born for living a healthy life, these are called miscarriages.

Answer 22

You can't abort at birth - thats illegal . Even before birth you can't always tell if a child will be retarded.

My neighbor is slightly mentally handicapped and he has a job, a girlfriend and even a new car.

Plus if we're aiming for a perfect utopian society - then we may as well just nuke the planet - no one is perfect.

Answer 23

you have got to be kidding?? Please tell me that you are.  A child is born and you would actually MURDER , not abort, that happens before birth- you would be up for murder if you did that. It is sad that children are born with handicaps but I can tell you I know a few, and they are the sweetest kids/people that you would ever want to know.  If a mother or father would think it would be best to "put them out of their misery"-  they need to be put to death too. Abortion should be wrong as well.

Answer 24

this is an interesting topic, as you can tell by the heated answers. first off if you mean killing the baby after birth I strongly think it is wrong (and extremely illegal). However, a few months ago our doctor gave us the option of testing our unborn child for some birth defects. I asked the doctor what good the test did. She said if it is positive we could choose to end the pregnancy. I think this is what you are asking about.

Immediately my husband and I choose to not test. We would be great parents to a handicapped child. Some people wouldnt be great parents to such children. These parents may be doing what is best for them and the child by choosing to not continue the pregnancy. Its a tough decision and I feel bad for anyone who has to make it. This topic brought up conversation with my close family and friends and I was interested to learn what they thought. For example my mother said she would probably end the pregnancy. My own mom, it was weird to hear but a personal choice. I hope you arent in this situation, but if you are good luck and you are the only one that can make the decision and you have to live with it.

Good Luck. Good Questions I enjoyed reading.

Answer 25

A life is a life we all have souls regardless of our mental capacities.

Answer 26

GOD ONLY GIVES YOU WHAT YOU CAN HANDLE...  people handle severly retarded children all the time and it is hard but they do it...What kind of mother would want to end the life of their child just b/c they are not "normal" f*cking sick people thats who

Answer 27

first of all you cant be "aborted" at birth, then its just murder, and how can you predict what kind of life someone will have in the future?

Answer 28

Do you even know what it feels like to be handicapped?

You should feel sorry for them, and help them, why would you kill another human whos completely helpless? What if you were handicapped?

Please think twice before you answer ;]

Answer 29

I really don't know what I would do if I found out my child was severely retarded or had Harlequin Ichthyosis or any disease such as those.

I know I would never have the heart to get an abortion, but I wouldn't want my child to be miserable for their whole life, either.   Honestly, I know it's horrible, but I'd probably put the child up for adoption. I don't think I would have the mental capacity to handle such a child.

This coming from a person that looks forward to having kids most of all out of life.

I pray I get healthy children so I don't have to make that choice. ):

Answer 30

absolutely not! people who are mental challenged are the exact same as us humans! the deserve a life just as we do!

as i have a brother with downs-syndrome he is my role model as he shows me how he can fight his way threw life even though people make fun and bully such people!

Answer 31

Well, while I am pro choice .. for early term pregnancies... this question does not sound very pro-CHOICE. What it sounds like you're asking is if it should be at the doctor's discretion. Also... killing a child *at birth* is killing a child -plain and simple.

I grew up with a friend that had a brother that was severely handicapped mentally and physically. You know what? He was THE HAPPIEST kid I've ever seen. Laughing, giggling..playing. constantly. He made everyone smile. He sang- though it was hard to understand, and even when he was 12 he couldn't feed himself or go potty. That didn't matter. he was amazing. His sister was embarrassed by him and we (her friends) would get on to her about that constantly.

Very mentally challenged children and adults CAN be happy.

They should never be treated as second class- and something to kill and toss away.

Think about this way. What if you had a happy healthy child and at age 12 they got a brain tumor. After removal - the surgery left your child mentally handicapped and beyond repair.

would you wanna kill your child? NO.