Moral dilemma: what should be done with the severe mentally retarded?

[Fereshte]

So, anyway, euthanasia for infants obviously born mentally handicap? Immoral or mercy killing?

Fully against euthanasia for mentally handicapped infants..That's not mercy killing, that deprives them of their rightful chance to live. It's true that they have to live with a disadvantage, but this shouldn't deprive them of living and those of us with an advantage can help optimize their living conditions to the maximum. Killing them is like the easy way out and revolves more about the comfort about society rather than about the optimal & merciful choice for the disadvantaged individual (now society won't have to "handle their burden").

It's the duty of the healthy society to take care of the unhealthy and support research & development dedicated to advancing medical healthcare that would help. With them being alive and with society being actively involved with them, this is a type of participatory observation that can help advance R&D (for e.g., scientists will further understand why they act in certain ways, how their brain functions, what genetic factors are going wrong..etc). If they are killed, how will the root causes ever treated? We never know what breakthroughs science & medicine can achieve in the coming decades..

[Curiouscat]

People with downs syndrome are able to work and function with guidance most of the time, although some are more/less able than others.
Near where I live a cafe set up by the National Lottery fund employs disabled people, both physically and mentally to help run the place. They are doing a great job.

There are cafes in Turkey run by people with downs syndrome, these types of establishments give these people more independence and an aim.

In the past they would probably have been locked up in some mental institution and left to rot.

http://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/...-ankara-turkey

[imglink]http://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/sites/default/files/styles/your-stories-node/public/hbr_1_0.jpg[/imglink]

[asingh]

I think they should be taken care off by the individual who have borne them.

[Kwestos]

I have a friend from old times that i noticed on FB has a disabled kid, she was announcing some fund they established with er husband and I saw the boys website and obviously you cant help but feel sorry looking at it and reading it. This kid has poor hearing, poor sight, problems with movement and is mentally handicaped.
The parents obviously love him and try to do what they can to improve the chances- but its expensive, he must go through many expensive surgeries and still will never be 'normal'. Its taboo to question sense of that though.

One story I know is quite ironic and in a way symbolic, but to an extend, another girl I used to know at some stage got a good job, rich husband etc and became very 'darwinist' in her views, I even argued with her about this, she was praising productiveness, weak should die etc and later on I learbnt she had a kid with down syndriome, to be honest my first reaction was not sorry, but weird satisfaction, it is very low and embarrasing but I wont lie, thats what I first thought, but then I rethought my approach.

[thetick]

IOne story I know is quite ironic and in a way symbolic, but to an extend, another girl I used to know at some stage got a good job, rich husband etc and became very 'darwinist' in her views, I even argued with her about this, she was praising productiveness, weak should die etc and later on I learbnt she had a kid with down syndriome, to be honest my first reaction was not sorry, but weird satisfaction, it is very low and embarrasing but I wont lie, thats what I first thought, but then I rethought my approach.

She'll be a much better person by learning to deal with her down syndrome child. I would never wish that hardship on anyone, regardless the child is a gift despite being much more work physically and emotionally then a typical average child.

[Papa Anodyne]

Too many posts and I can't decide who to address. I'll just say I'm not won over by the other camp. Fortunately in many cases, and more so in the future as technology advances, we know ahead of time but... I find it odd that aborting a fetus is fine with many people but yet they get all bothered with the idea of an infant with an unfortunate mental or extreme physical deformity being euthanized.

I see it as a double standard.

I'm speaking of people I know generally. No one in particular here.

I'm all, like, trying to make people think and stuff.

Interesting responses, by the way. You all are clearly not mentally handicap.

[ageladakos]

i do not agree with neither euthanasia or sterilization or what ever.

why?

because even if people cannot or do not wish to take care of these people, they are so few that any country can afford to take care of them in proper institutions, after all its not the severe mentally retarded that cause problems for any given sociaty, its the average and the inteligent ones who are blessed with one or more "negative qualities" that characterise our animal kind.

Yes, I know nazi made eugenism . I know what I said can be sound spiteful, but I think peoples for example who have very serious disability should be sterilize .
I know it's horrible but it's in the only way to stop peoples like that :

http://youtu.be/MKpq2Kdtslo

If you are found to carry one "malfunctioning genes", be it for retardation or some other disease, will you agree to be sterilized?
because it would be at least hypocricy to speak about sterilization without being ready to embrace the application of your theories on yourself.

[Fereshte]

Too many posts and I can't decide who to address. I'll just say I'm not won over by the other camp. Fortunately in many cases, and more so in the future as technology advances, we know ahead of time but... I find it odd that aborting a fetus is fine with many people but yet they get all bothered with the idea of an infant with an unfortunate mental or extreme physical deformity being euthanized.

I see it as a double standard.

I'm speaking of people I know generally. No one in particular here.

I'm all, like, trying to make people think and stuff.

Interesting responses, by the way. You all are clearly not mentally handicap.

Thank you O Great Papa Anodyne

I'm against abortion too (just as a point of clarification), I also see it as unfair and depriving one of their rightful chance to life. I understand it being necessary in cases such as rape or when it's extremely dangerous to the mum's health, but how many abortion cases around the world are really because of that?

[Papa Anodyne]

I should also make it clear I'm for abortions except when it's past a certain point (unless they're is an extreme physical defect or obvious cognitive impairment). I just like consistency and I've noticed some people have what I described as a double standard.

But I can't understand why an abortion is needed if it's easy to cause yourself to have a miscarriage.

[Curiouscat]

Thank you O Great Papa Anodyne

I'm against abortion too (just as a point of clarification), I also see it as unfair and depriving one of their rightful chance to life. I understand it being necessary in cases such as rape or when it's extremely dangerous to the mum's health, but how many abortion cases around the world are really because of that?

I agree.

I think its disgusting that some people use abortions as a form of birth control.