The Rights Of The Disabled To Be Parents.

I'm torn with the rights of the disabled and their right to be parents. Everyone is presumed to have that right unless the opposite is proven. And that's a good idea.

But you know, I remember as a child I heard a story of a woman who had no arms who wanted to raise a baby. She was disraught, and would have been sincere in her effort to be a good mother. So the court told her to change the baby's diaper in front of the jury. She was very upset as she did it, and she really did a horrible job of it. But the jury felt so sorry for her that they awarded her the baby. But as I got older, I started to think maybe that's not such a good thing. To worry about things like a parent's feelings or even if they are sincere, when it comes to child custody and rights of parents. In those cases it is the rights of the children and of the person who is the legal ward that come first.

I'm just saying there has to balance here. And I still think a mental cut off age for developmentally disabled. I came up with that idea about 20 years ago, but I don't know what the law says. Maybe the mental age of ten, is what I came up with then. I just don't think anyone below a mental age of ten should be a parent. But I don't know about that now. I guess maybe below that perhaps. Because when I was ten we were told that, and the fifth grade, was considered the level of functional literacy. But someone online a couple of years ago the third grade is now considered the grade level of functional literacy. So as I said, I don't know. Whatever age a person can function well enough at I guess.

And each case is different of course. Things like, is the person under guardianship themselves. Where they live. Do they live independently themselves. Can they take care of their basic needs to begin with. All of these questions are good questions I think, for all forms of disability, physical and mental.