Poll: Act of Love??

[Ishmael]

This is a poll based on a thread that Cheyenne started. The text of her thread follows.

The issue is simply do you think that this is an act of love on the parents part?


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Lesbians: We made our baby deaf on purpose

by James Langton in New York

A deaf lesbian couple have admitted deliberately creating what are believed to be the world's first designer handicapped babies. The two women tracked down a deaf sperm donor to ensure that their daughter, who is now five, would inherit the
same inherited hearing disabilty that they both share.

The couple were so pleased with the result that they have just had a second child, called Gauvin, using the same technique. Doctors who examined the boy say he is completely deaf in one ear and has only partial hearing in the other.

In an interview with the Washington Post, the women - Sharon Duchesneau, who gave birth, and Candace McCullough, her lesbian lover - say that they believe deafness is "an identity not a medical affliction that needs to be fixed".

They were so desperate to have children who share their handicap that the women asked their local sperm bank to provide a deaf donor, but were told congential hearing loss immediately disqualifies candidates.

Instead they turned to a deaf male friend for help, producing what they call their first "perfect baby" - their five-year-old daughter Jehanne. Before their son was born, the women said: "A hearing baby would be a blessing; a deaf baby would be a special blessing.''

Both women, who are in their mid thirties, belong to a radical school of thought that believes deafness is a "cultural identity" not a handicap.

They want their children to share the same "experiences" including learning, sign language and going to special schools for the deaf.

They also consulted a "genetic counsellor" before getting pregnant who told them that with Miss Duchesneau's background, that includes four generations of deafness on her mother's side, any child conceived with a deaf sperm donor would have a 50 per cent chance of having the same handicap.

After their daughter's first hearing test, the couple wrote happily in her baby book: "Oct 11, 1996 - no response at 95 decibels - DEAF!'' Their daughter attends a special kindergarten for children with hearing problems.

After tests on their baby son showed he also had severe problems, they decided against giving him a deaf aid in the one ear that still has some hearing, saying they will leave the decision to him when he is older.

The couple's behaviour has appalled children's rights groups in the United States. The conservative Family Research Council said their decision to "intentionally give a child a disability" was "incredibly selfish".

The council's spokesman, Fred Connor, said: "These women are taking the idea of creating so-called designer babies to a horrible new level.''

Even a leading member of the American National Association for the Deaf, Nancy Rarus, said she "can't understand why anyone would want to bring a disabled child into the world".

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Ishmael

 

[Cheyenne]

No. It was an act of two very selfish people.

 

[unclej]

ditto what cheyenne said

 

[just pet]

I vote for selfish, with a skewed sense of entitlement

pet

 

[MissTaken]

A self serving act of egocentricity, perhaps?

Plain selfish!

 

[BustyTheClown]

I won't argue with you here, Ishmael -- I voted for "no."

 

[pondman]

Not just selfish

But very cruel to.

 

[paganangel]

just retarded

would they have beaten the child in the ears with a hammer if he/she were born with hearing.

 

[Cheyenne]

Hey, Ishmael. You knocked 'em off the fence afterall!

 

[Tropism]

I voted no as well, seems very selfish, as Cheyenne said.

Why not wait till theyre older and let them decide if they want their eardrums removed? I doubt any would say yes.

 

[Ishmael]

LOL

Hey, Ishmael. You knocked 'em off the fence afterall!

Sure did Ms Smartie Pants.

Thanks for the go ahead to do this with your thread.

Ishmael

 

[glamorilla]

I voted "no"

Not an act of love.

I've been sad about it since i saw the thread start up last night...so much that in my mind there isn't even need to debate it.

 

[BustyTheClown]

Re: just retarded

would they have beaten the child in the ears with a hammer if he/she were born with hearing.

Good question, but it's moot in this case: the two women sought out sperm that would combine with the genes in the woman's egg and cause the child to be deaf, so it's not like its deafness was a fluke. It was done purposefully, so asking if they would have beaten the kid's ears with a hammer if the kid was born with hearing isn't relevant because there was no (or at least very little) chance of that happening.

 

[paganangel]

busty

didn't the arcticl sayhere was only a fifty % chance. (too lazy to read throughit agin)

 

[LukkyKnight]

They may well love each other, but it's hard to see how conniving to maximize the chances that "their" child will have to face greater-than-average challenges from day one qualifies as doing something in the interests of that child.

 

[BustyTheClown]

Re: busty

didn't the arcticl sayhere was only a fifty % chance. (too lazy to read throughit agin)

You're absolutely right, I'm sorry; I misread it as saying there was a 50% chance that the woman's egg would produce a deaf child, and did some math in my head that, combined with the deaf man's sperm and probably the same statistics, that the chances were almost for sure that the baby would be deaf. Still, we can't speculate on what the women *would* have done had the baby been born with a sense of hearing -- it'd be a practice in futility.

 

[WhiteRose]

I don't see how a parent can purposefully do that to their child. And even saying what they did
[quote["A hearing baby would be a blessing; a deaf baby would be a special blessing.'' [/quote]
what if that child had been born with perfect hearing? What a horrible thing to find out later how your parents felt about you not being AS much of a blessing as a deaf baby would have been.