Monday, April 20, 2009
Imagine A Time...
Imagine a time, were the government declared all unfit and uneducated people to be forcibly sterilized thus rendering them infertile. Many countries in the world, including the United States practiced forced sterilization between 1927 and 1972. Over 8000 men and women were sterilized due to their mental and physical condition. Recently, this option came up to a young female named, Sophia, who lived in a mental institution and was not able to care for herself, let alone a baby. She had dreamed occasionally and spoke about her sexual desires to her friends and family. Her doctor, Dr.Burns, thought it would be in her best interest to look into this process rendering her infertile but able to have sexual relations in the future. Dr.Burns feared she would not be as looked after or cared for as much as she is now as a teen. He decided that Sophia was not able to make this decision on her own and he would decide for her. Governor Gray Davis spoke on the issue and said “ Our Hearts are heavy in pain caused by eugenics”,” It is a sad and regrettable chapter in the state’s history, and it is one that must never be repeated”. Forced sterilization should not be allowable in any circumstance because it is permanent and not in Sophia’s best interest in her future if she decided to be independent.
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Paragraph 1: The First Claim
ReplyDeleteThe Act of Sterilization of the Disabled
The act of sterilization is the destruction of all living microorganisms, as pathogenic or saprophytic bacteria, vegetative forms, and spores. There have been many laws as well as critical discussions to help support the negative effects that this can have on a person. This act is unethical by the means that it takes away the voice of a person who is disabled. Take a woman named Bertha, for example, who grew up in southwestern Virginia was diagnosed with a “mildly retarded” condition after taking an IQ test at John’s Hopkins (http://www.uky.edu/Classes/PHI/305.002/ret.htm). She received a 68% which is just under the normal IQ rate which ranges from 69-70 (normal range). To supposedly help keep her from an unsuccessful pregnancy, her pediatrician inserted an intrauterine device (IUD) which was without her consent. Bertha’s story is a reflection of the millions of sterilization procedures that are taking place within the 21st century today. On a physical level, the one’s anatomy has its own function. Having someone considered “normal” to help assist someone who is thought of to be “disabled” is taking away the human rights that this country stands by. In fact human rights might as well not even exist seeing as they are always ousted within society. This social dilemma brings many questions to the table. What is considered a “disabled” person anyway? What are some alternatives for them? How does this procedure make their lives any better? Why must doctors force these contraceptives on those who are disabled? Who says that a “mentally disabled” person cannot raise a child?
Forcing sterilization is good because there are many unfit people in this world who should not care for a child like criminals, mentally insane people, and people with birth defects. Everyone knows that when you conceive a child you pass your genes and traits onto that child. Traits like looks, they way you think, and likes and dislikes can wind up in the child. It is better to execute a degenerate’s offspring instead of waiting for them to commit a crime and have to throw them in jail or let them starve for their imbecility (Pham and Lerner). If a person has Down syndrome or any other disease and they cannot live on their own and need constant care or to be watched over because of it, then why take the chance for that person to have a child that they cannot provide for and wind up with the same disease also? Mentally challenged children are ten times more likely to be sexually abused then a normal child. Forced sterilization is a good way to keep this nation safe out of harm’s way and make the lives of caregivers easier.
ReplyDeleteAlthough forced sterilization can be viewed as a prevention of a disaster, it takes away common human rights. Every person should be able to choose the path they want to take with their lives. Women have fought for the choice to carry out their pregnancy or to terminate it, therefore, they should not have to fight for almost the same right: to make the choice to conceive a child or to get themselves sterilized. How can a “specialist” be positive that they are making the right conclusion that a person should not ever have children? Is there a test that can determine one's ability to mother or father a child? The truth is that nobody can be certain and that is when decisions become motivated by opinions. Forced sterilization has caused popular discrimination against alleged handicaps in the past and it could easily happen again: “Though the United States was the pioneer in the legal, administrative, and technical aspects of eugenic sterilization, Nazi Germany borrowed its ideas and applied them in an unprecedented way[genocide]” (Bruinius, Harry). There are only so many lengths that a country can go to improve or preserve its society and forced sterilization is going a step too far. Sometimes people are better off letting life happen.
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