Poll: You Discover Your Child Will Be...

[TriggerUnhappy]

I wouldn't be able to abort the child because I just wouldn't not that I'm against I just wouldn't be able to. Also I believe everyone who I saw say they would abort were doing so for selfish reasons and quite frankly I wouldn't want that type of person raising any child.

I'll readily admit my reasoning is selfish, and honestly I don't care. I wouldn't spend my entire life dedicated to a vegetable. Not only that, but the child doesn't just affect you, for once you die, your relatives are stuck with the job of caring for it. Not to mention, it would be a drain on society's space and resources, and with overpopulation already rising, I don't see the point in letting something survive that could never learn to live and appreciate life anyways. Perhaps that makes me a cold heartless bastard, but the world is a cold place, and the kid would never even know it was in it. Just my two cents.

You just have such a bleek outlook on the situation and the world its not as cold and heartless place as you make it out to be. Even if your child isn't mentally retarded you still need to dedicate your whole life to them maybe not every waking moment but still you need to be there for them whenever they need you. And the thing that makes it all worth it is the good times that you spend with your children because it most certainly won't be all good times. And where are you getting this that the mentally retarded are incapable of living a full life do you know any mentally retarded people? Also there are programs where as adults they live in houses with other mentally retarded adults so they won't be shacking up with your relatives.

They won't be able to live a full life, because they have the mental capacity of a one year old. Yes, retarded people can lead full and happy lives, but not those with the mental capacity of a toddler. They can't feed or clothe themselves, how can you even call that a life, they're practically vegetables at that point. As for the world not being cold and heartless... that's a discussion for another time. I'm actually not depressed and don't view the world as bleak at all, but at the same time, the world certainly isn't rainbows and sunshine. Hell, if it wasn't for our current society, the kid would be dead in less than a day. But, now I'm just sort of rambling, so... yeah.
<image width=200>http://www.deviantart.com/download/134205851/DAMN_NATURE_YOU_SCARY_by_Dageon22.jpg

 

[likalaruku]

I would sell it for money, screw the beurocracy & paperwork of addopting. My mom said I'd make a shitty parent for even a normal child, but somewhere out there is a desperate childless couple who could keep a kid with Harlequin Ichthyosis alive & well.

I wouldn't abort a retarded kid though; people with mental defects tend to be blissfully unaware of their predicaments & don't grow up to be bitter. Kids like this are ideal for moms who can't stand the thought of their kids maturing & moving out.

 

[Billion Backs]

Abortion. The only thing we got going for us is our intellect. If you don't have that, you're not a human. And in case of such severe mental retardation, you're nothing. It's like having a comatose patient for a kid for some 40 years. Stupid.

I suppose that makes me mildly pro-eugenics.

 

[Kuhkren]

Even though it could experience happiness and joy like other human beings was birthed I would abort it. Too much of a burden on myself and everyone around me.

 

[ultrachicken]

Toddlers are assholes, but they can't do much harm in their weak state.
However, a full-grown adult who has the mental state of a toddler would be a selfish, annoying, attention whore that would be extremely difficult to control. Not to mention that they wouldn't appreciate any of the work you put into keeping them alive.
I would simply have the person aborted.

 

[Scarecrow]

I would have to abort. I have seen people like that and it's the saddest and painful life there can be. Nobody derseves that.

 

[TK421]

I really have absolutely no idea what I would do. I think I will cross that bridge if I come to it.

 

[TehCookie]

Abortion. My friend has to take care of her mentally retarded aunt because the tard's parents passed away.

So all you people who would keep it, what would happen to it after you died. Living a miserable life in some scummy basement with a family that doesn't like it and only takes care of it because it was my friend's grandma's last request? Just to clarify: they don't mistreat her, they just try their best to ignore her. Unless she tries to break something or hurt herself.

Then again my views on the sanctity of life only apply to things that have more emotion and intelligence than a fish. So some people which aren't that severely retarded are fine, there are some exceptions such as retards who think the computer narrator is the mythical voice of God or have multiple voices in their head who they converse with.

 

[Panda Mania]

Ehhh....

I would be sorely tempted to abort it (as early as possible), but being a believer in God and the sanctity of life...Hm. The thing with giving it up for adoption is-would anyone even have her/him? I mean, when people look for a child to adopt, this is the LAST thing they're looking for. It is a heavy burden to raise such a child.

I guess I wouldn't know for sure until something like this actually happened.

I have to ask (surely out of curiosity), why do you find life sacred?
Personally, I believe life itself to be magical and a miracle, but individual lives mean nothing to me.

It's because *looks around and whispers* I'm a Christian, who believes that God created life as something to be treasured and valued. Christianity always dictates to think of others, fetuses included. Unfortunately our Bible doesn't provide direct guidance for these current medically ingenious times. But on basic principle, aborting a healthy fetus appears very selfish to Christians. When specific situations arise, such as when the mother's life is threatened, that's when opinions start to vary widely, I guess.

I understand you wanting to think of others, but in this case you need to think not only of the fetus but society as well. If it were just you and the fetus yes it would be kinda selfish to abort, however in this if you don't abort then the child will need constant attention. to begin with it would remove your time which at first seems only to affect you but upon closer examination it can also affect the world. if you hadn't of been taking care of the child you may have cured a disease, or saved a life. now if you look further into the future you see the child after you die. It still needs constant attention, and now someone else suffers from your decision to not abort.

Certainly the child would be a drain on all kinds of resources. For this reason I plan not to have children.

I appreciate the logical big-picture viewpoint. To think of the impact on society (read: many others) is to be reasonable and practical. However my fellow Christians never cease to point out the chance (to us) of a miracle. Unlikely, yes, but "nothing is impossible with God," and who would want to get in the way of divine blessing? See, Christians aren't huge fans of the logical societal-impact perspective. Too impersonal and not spiritual enough, I suppose. Personally I think your argument makes great sense and is totally valid. Unfortunately you probably wouldn't convince many believers with it. D:

 

[Betancore]

I'd have the abortion. If I wasn't still in high school, then I would probably carry the child until birth and then have him/her adopted, but I am. I'm not ready for a child, regardless of their mental capacity, nor am I ready to even have one in my womb for nine months, and while an abortion would be emotionally crippling, it's still preferable to the alternative. That being said, I'm pretty sure I'd never accidentally become pregnant unless I was raped.

It's interesting to consider though. If I was to go through with it, there's no way I'd raise the child myself. I can barely take care of one person. I just wouldn't be able to deal with raising a child with such severe mental retardation.

 

[YonderTunic]

I really really really really want to say I would raise it regardless. I am horribly against abortion, but honestly....I do not think I would be able to do that. Horrible as it is, I think I would just abort him/her. I hardly think I'd be able to raise a normal child, let alone one that's mental retarted and will also need special care until they die, or I die.

I'm such a hypocrite :'(

 

[Vrex360]

It would hurt like hell, but I would probably go with abortion. True if this child merely had mental handicaps then I wouldn't mind going the extra mile to raise them because I'd love my child but if this child is destined to never have a real life and of whom won't even mature past the age of one year old, I wouldn't be able to handle the responsibilty.

That said, I would still feel guilty about it every day of my life, so I pray that if I ever have a child born with mental handicap that they still have the capacity to live a long and happy life.

 

[Fenreil]

Okay this is fucking ridiculous. All you people would abort (such a convenient term) your child because he/she wouldn't meet your standards? Fuck that. That is your child. It is a result of your actions, your decisions, and you CANNOT run away from it like that.

This whole topic is disgusting, it really is. Some many people are so willing to take lives like this. There's so much angry ranting that I want to do, but I'm just too disheartened. Appalling.

 

[Novania]

Spoiler

And feel good while doing it!

(I know I'm messed up...get over it...and excuse me for trying to brighten this veeeerrryyy dark thread with some humor)

 

[Akalistos]

snip

Well, I think the right thing to do is to ask ourself:"Would we want to live like that?"

If it would be able to develop to 8 years old, i would raise it... but not one year old. But there also a chance that the doctor is wrong. I have a friend that was diagnosed as retarted but ended up being smarter then they predicted. He's pretty normal, and he laughed at the doc that gave that diagnosis.

 

[TriggerUnhappy]

Okay this is fucking ridiculous. All you people would abort (such a convenient term) your child because he/she wouldn't meet your standards? Fuck that. That is your child. It is a result of your actions, your decisions, and you CANNOT run away from it like that.

This whole topic is disgusting, it really is. Some many people are so willing to take lives like this. There's so much angry ranting that I want to do, but I'm just too disheartened. Appalling.

It has nothing to do with meeting standards, it's the fact that the kid will never mentally develop past a one year old. They're not even a person at that point, just a vegetable. If you want to be really cynical though, they're not so much running away from the problem, as confronting it...
<color=white>Ok, maybe that was too far

 

[YonderTunic]

Well, I think the right thing to do is to ask ourself:"Would we want to live like that?"

If it would be able to develop to 8 years old, i would raise it... but not one year old. But there also a chance that the doctor is wrong. I have a friend that was diagnosed as retarted but ended up being smarter then they predicted. He's pretty normal, and he laughed at the doc that gave that diagnosis.

See, now that just makes me feel worse about the decision to abort. They COULD have been perfectly normal, but we'd never find out. I'd live with the guilt for the rest of my life, not even knowing if he was truely going to be unable to develop.

.....I think I'm taking this a tad seriously.

 

[Zorpheus]

Abortion. And this is coming from someone that would have been retarded if a doctor didn't catch his hypothyroidism. I know I wouldn't have wanted to live that way, I wouldn't put someone else through a life like that, and, on a more selfish note, I wouldn't let myself be weighed down by such a child.