Abortion And The Mentally Handicapped Essay, Research Paper

Abortion and the Mentally Handicapped

Matt Domin

MWF 9:00

Ms. Smith,

We of the Ethics Committee have reviewed your case for an extended

period of time. We took into consideration, for our decision, the yearn of any

female to experience childbearing, child birth, and the joy of raising young.

Being a mother is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and once you become a mother

you are a mother for life. There is a tremendous amount of responsibility and

work that goes along with having children. We understand your desire to

continue the pregnancy, and to keep the child, but due to your legal status,

mental health, and the baby’s well being, the decision to terminate the

pregnancy has been reached and voted for unanimously.

Your mother has proper legal custody, and as you know, wants the

abortion to take place. We agree with her concern for your well-being. Child

birth is an extremely stressful situation. The trauma of the pregnancy could

intensify your paranoid schizophrenia, or cause some other mental disorder. Mrs.

Smith has informed us that she herself is not capable of caring for the child.

We feel that you will suffer further if you are forced to give up the child.

Your psychiatrist has come to the conclusion that you are not capable of being a

responsible parent, but you are, at times, capable of making rational moral

decisions. However, because you are not able to make important, rational, moral

decisions most of the time your mother can claim that you are not mentally

capable of raising a child. Also. We took in to account that the father of this

unborn child is unknown. There is no one to help you make this decision, but

more importantly, there is not another parental figure to aid in the raising and

caring for this child. From testimonies from your mother and your psychiatrist,

it is our understanding that you can do neither on your own.

Ms. Smith, you have been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. As you

know, the treatment for paranoid schizophrenia is a variety of different drugs.

This gives you a slightly higher chance of having fetal defects such as cystic

fibrosis, pulmonary emphysema, abruptioplacentae, miscarriage, or placenta

previa to name a few. We also feel that there is an increased chance that the

child will develop a mental disorder. It is not fair for the child or its’ care

takers to suffer from deformities that were caused from drug reactions. You

must understand our position in caring for the physical health and safety of

this child.

You will not be able to provide for the child, because you have no

annual income. We feel that the child will not have equal opportunities to have

positive growth and development because of this. Living in Community Hospital’s

long term care unit does not provide a heathy environment for the baby to live

in. The baby will have little opportunity to go outside, be with peers, and

have friends. A baby needs a healthy environment to grow and be nurtured in.

This is a basic right that should be granted to any new born. We feel that

because of your living situation your baby will not get the essentials.

Adoption is another issue to be dealt with. As we stated earlier, you

might suffer more if you are you are forced to give the baby up for adoption.

You could possibly develop serious depression, and worsen your paranoid

schizophrenia. You may think you give the child up for adoption to benefit their

well being, but once you actually give birth to this child, your feelings may

change. The could cause serious emotional trauma on you, your mother, and in the

long run will hurt your child. Orphanages aren’t the best environment for a

child to grow up in. If you did put your child up for adoption, the likelihood

that someone will want to adopt a mental patient’s child is low, and if the

child is deformed in some way the chance is even smaller. You took the

responsibility to have sex, now you must take the responsibility to do what is

right for your child, no matter how much pain will be placed on you. Every

child deserves to have loving, providing parents and we feel you can’t give your

child that, and an adoption may not be successful. We, as an Ethics Committee

are not willing to take that chance with an unborn child’s life.

Children’s development is influenced by several different mediums like

environment, parents, friends, and personal characteristics. We feel that if

this child were born under these circumstances, the influences presented would

be negative, and the baby’s well being, health, and security are top priority in

this case. Being an ethics committee, we cannot permit you to give birth to

this fetus. You are not mentally capable to bear, or properly raise the child.

Your lifestyle is not suitable for properly raising a child. Living in a mental

hospital does not provide an acceptable environment for a baby to grow in, and

the negatives of this case out way the positives.

We are truly sorry about this decision, but it is the best for you and

the child. We will do our best to help you in any way. We are here to offer

mental and physical support. Please understand that this is the best solution

for everyone involved. If you have any problems or questions feel free to

contact us any time. We did not impose this decision to hurt you in any way. We

want you to get healthy and care for yourself. Until you can care for, and have

responsibility for yourself, you can’t care for and take responsibility for

another. This decision is final and you must cooperate with us to make this

painful situation as easy as possible. We have sent a copy of this letter to

your mother and to your doctors and we would like to talk with you further.

Thank You for your cooperation.