Would you abort a handicapped kid?

[Dezerte]

As someone who was born with a handicap, I don't wish that upon anyone. And no, I don't hate my parents, I try to make the best of my life as much as I can.

[Tradewind]

Lol @ viking thing. A deformed kid will never be accepted by society because of the way he looks, probably tossed aside by his classmates falling into a deep depression eventually killing himself.

You don't need to have a mental handicap or physical deformity to get classmates shitting all over you these days :P Or any days for that matter. Not that it matters again anyway, since my Godlike Mega Children will crack them in half with Odin's fury.

[mittacc]

Yes. I hate to admit it but I want my children to be alpha. Be it by their intellect and cunning or their fitness. They have to be alpha in some way :/

[S7orm]

it highly depends on the gravity of the disorder and the impact it might have on his life

[valax]

Yes doing it for him and for myself. Really can't see why people would want to give birth to a creature that will never be able to enjoy a normal life

[Azutael]

I voted for depends, though if it's obvious the child will have a major physical or mental handicap. Then I would not want to bring that child into life, it's just cruel.

[Deleted]

no way , my oldest son has a handicap , now we didn't know he was going to be handicapped before he was born . I don't mind saying that he has ASD. he is going to be 8 years old later this year and yeah its been tough at times but I love him just as much as I love my other 2 kids who thankfully are fine. yes it does take up a lot of our time as a family looking after him but I think living in the UK the level of support we get from the social services is amazing . when he was really young I didn't even have time to work full time as we had that many doctor appointments to run to , now he's at a great special school that has really helped him lots and he is getting to grips with his ASD and for people who might not be sure what it is , ASD stands for Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

so all in all , there is no way I could abort a child.

[zombiekitty]

Nope, I wouldn't. Having a child of my own and another one on the way, I can say that I would do everything I can so my kids are happy. What kind of person would I be to deny any of my kids joy in life, simply because of my own expectations of what they should be? I don't believe a child who is handicapped in some way has any less of a right to life as a child who grows up normally. If one of my kids should have to live with me forever - oh well. I would do whatever I can for them, same as any loving parent. Also, who says a handicapped child will die before the parents? Or never know happiness? There are many types of handicap and of those many are perfectly capable of being happy.

[Talzar]

I imagine internet banter and telling a doctor to kill your child are two very different things.

[Netherspark]

I would, for the sake of the child. No one should have to live like that.

If I had the option of living with severe mental handicaps and not being alive at all, I'd chose the former in a heartbeat. It must be like some kind of horrible torture, that you're incapable of perceiving.

[Mikael123]

There are many degrees of handicap. Therefore I wouldn't prefer an abort in all cases. In the case of downs syndrome for example, I'd prefer abortion.

[Rob D]

Down syndrome, open backs, not able to walk, spinal problems, siamese twins, fragile X syndrome, serabel poulsy, polio etc. there's a small chance indeed, but the chance is still there especially when you work with chemicals an stuff. The question isnt if its likely to happen to you. But what if.

Minor nitpick, it spelled "Cerebal palsy".

But for the OP. When my wife was pregnant with our 2nd child, she was in an advanced risk group for child having Down Syndrome. We decided that even if the signs are there that this might be the case, we would still keep him. Also, we, mostly my wife, were friends with a man who had Spina Bifida. While he had troubles throughout his life, I never had the feeling that he wanted not to be born, he was 57 when he passed away.

However, I wouldn't hold it against people who decide otherwise. If you think it would be too much of a burden for you, then I agree with terminating the pregnancy.

[Windfury]

I'd probably be unlikely to, but checked depends because you can't really know until you're in the situation and know exactly what you're dealing with.

If it was something where they could have no quality of life whatsoever I'd consider it, otherwise I'd be unlikely to base a decision on that. While disability comes with a lot of challenges saying that means a life that would otherwise be worth it isn't, or blaming the disabled individual for societies response to them is extremely problematic territory (e.g. "A deformed kid will never be accepted by society because of the way he looks, probably tossed aside by his classmates falling into a deep depression eventually killing himself").

I do think the technology needs to improve a bit if people want to make informed decisions about this. People should be aware that currently it can be difficult to distinguish the severity of the disability (and therefore the impact it would have on the child's life). Things like mild aspergers and severe autism look the same in fetal scans at the moment for example (both show as ASD afaik).

[Tradewind]

Minor nitpick, it spelled "Cerebal palsy".

Cerebral Palsy

who spell checks the spell check-men.

[Hooked]

I would take the spartan approach to babies.

[Kurioxan]

Yep, not fair for neither me nor the kid.

[Tradewind]

I would take the spartan approach to babies.

Have them fight each other in the nursery before being released from hospital. Only the victor goes home.

[Deleted]

no way , my oldest son has a handicap , now we didn't know he was going to be handicapped before he was born . I don't mind saying that he has ASD. he is going to be 8 years old later this year and yeah its been tough at times but I love him just as much as I love my other 2 kids who thankfully are fine. yes it does take up a lot of our time as a family looking after him but I think living in the UK the level of support we get from the social services is amazing . when he was really young I didn't even have time to work full time as we had that many doctor appointments to run to , now he's at a great special school that has really helped him lots and he is getting to grips with his ASD and for people who might not be sure what it is , ASD stands for Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

so all in all , there is no way I could abort a child.

I see you view your son with ASD as being fully human unlike what some people believe. Also, it appears you believe your child has a right to live even though you understand and have lived through the struggles of having a child with unique needs. Perhaps once the world learns that life is sacred and that true love means sacrificing oneself for another we'll see a better world. Kudos to you for serving another person even though it's been a inconvenience for you. I'm betting you're a better person for it too! Hopefully other will take note.

[Deleted]

Yes I would.
Because i'm a jerk, and it would be hard on everyone. Including the child.
The medical thing doesn't apply to me though, because I live in commie Scandinavia.

[Catta]

What kind of handicap are we talking about?

If they've got anencephaly...well that's kind of a given, it's not like you even have a choice there. Agenesis is probably another one, or Tay-Sachs disease. But for something like Downs or non-life threatening mental disorders or deformities, I doubt I would.

But I'm a Scottish-Viking, so my children are going to be fuckin Godlike.

How about things like muscular dystrophy that makes the kid unlikely to live past 25. Or progeria?