YOUR BABY IS DISABLED

[amy]

Okay, so this time you're happily married and in a stable situation both emotionally and financally. (xD Suspend your disbelief guys!)

You are a straight woman and have decided that you would like kids and you are preganant and your husband wants kids too but your amniocentesis comes back saying your child will only have one arm or have Down's Syndrome (one of the two.)

do you decide to terminate the pregnancy o_o;;

[Arcane]

Fuck no.

[HappyLittleBoozer]

If it was a serious mental defect, I would abort it, simply to save the child the burden of a dead-end life. If it was a minor physical defect, like the loss of a limb, then that can be overcome by modern technology. Hell even if he was fully paralyzed but still had great mental capabilities (like Stephen Hawking) I'd keep him.

[Mithrandir]

I don't think I can suspend my disbelief to that extent. I mean... it would require looking 20+ years into the future, assuming that I want to have children (which probably will happen in the future, but I can't really put myself in that minset yet), and assuming I didn't have some sort of genetic consultation before getting pregnant.

I'd also like to know what the % chance is for down syndrome v. one arm.

(Because I'd be able to handle having a child without an arm, but I don't know about down syndrome)

[amy]

I dunno, limbs are flexible, I was trying to think of something that would be crippling for life and like require you to pay their medical bills when you're 90.

[Mithrandir]

Being born without an arm would actually be fairly easy on someone, especially considering the neuroplasticity of young children.

[amy]

I guess I meant no arms then. xD

[Mithrandir]

That's a bit harder, but the wonders of neuroplasticity could allow vastly increased leg/foot functionality.

[amy]

Well, he or she would have to go to a special school with hands-free doors etc etc

rather like a mental disability i think. :\

[margot]

I watched a documentary on various people born without arms or who lost their arms in accidents, and they were just fine, they used their feet for everything. Though I bet it was hard going through school.

That said, I don't know. I mean thinking like right now, I'm kind of weary about having a child with a disability just because I always had superficial fantasy of having really smart child ect but I bet if you carry a child in your body for 6 months or however long until you learn it will be disabled, you'll want to keep it. But I could never see myself having a child with down syndrome either..

[Dramatic Conclusion]

Yes. I've worked with disabled kids. I love them, and they deserve the same shot at happiness as other kids. Who cares if they're a bit of additional hassle, if I'm going to have kids, I'll be making sacrifices either way.

[Gundampilotspaz]

A serious mental defect I wouldn't even give a second thought. One arm or leg wouldn't be a problem.

[amy]

A serious mental defect I wouldn't even give a second thought.

e_e; I am sort of repeating what Aelice told me one time but if someone has a mental disability that doesn't mean they can't have talents/interests/things they are good at. (her example: she worked with a disabled boy who told her all about the Clinton airplane scandals/had a strong political position.) I think that's unreasonably harsh even for a weird thread like this, I'm pretty sure if you knew all the facts you would give a second thought.

[Poophy]

If it was a serious mental defect, I would abort it, simply to save the child the burden of a dead-end life. If it was a minor physical defect, like the loss of a limb, then that can be overcome by modern technology. Hell even if he was fully paralyzed but still had great mental capabilities (like Stephen Hawking) I'd keep him.

[Venom112]

A loss of an arm? No problem, besides, Puck would have probably lost a limb during my training anyway. I'll simply replace it with an (debatably) even better arm. Mechanically strong, it would be a working version of Inspector Gadget's arm, in a way.

Down's Syndrome, no problem, they have genetic engineering that takes care of that nowadays. Otherwise it would be abortion time. Autistic would be another case, assuming they were a savant. Then I could harvest the brain later for the merging of my consciousness into Puck! Then certain parts of the brain would replaced and what not to keep Puck together, with an even better processor!

I'm pretty sure if you knew all the facts you would give a second thought.

But you clearly don't give all the facts of this imaginary scenario, so that is irrelevent.

[Gundampilotspaz]

e_e; I am sort of repeating what Aelice told me one time but if someone has a mental disability that doesn't mean they can't have talents/interests/things they are good at. (her example: she worked with a disabled boy who told her all about the Clinton airplane scandals/had a strong political position.) I think that's unreasonably harsh even for a weird thread like this, I'm pretty sure if you knew all the facts you would give a second thought.

You know me, Amy. I wouldn't want my son to go though life like that, I wouldn't wish it on anyone not even my worst enemy. I can't stand to be around people with a serious mental defect, I can't stand being around just a person of lower then average intelligence honestly. I fear them.

On top of it I don't think I could handle seeing my own son like that, and I don't think I would be able to give him the attention that I disabled person needs for the rest of their life.

I want a son that when he turns 15 he can become a peer, that i can train to become a good member of society and that I can pass on things that I hold dear to me.

[amy]

But you clearly don't give all the facts of this imaginary scenario, so that is irrelevent.

I meant the facts of mental disabilities! D:

[amy]

You know me, Amy. I wouldn't want my son to go though life like that, I wouldn't wish it on anyone not even my worst enemy. I can't stand to be around people with a serious mental defect, I can't stand being around just a person of lower then average intelligence honestly. I fear them.

On top of it I don't think I could handle seeing my own son like that, and I don't think I would be able to give him the attention that I disabled person needs for the rest of their life.

I want a son that when he turns 15 he can become a peer, that i can train to become a good member of society and that I can pass on things that I hold dear to me.

:\ I think you're basically saying you've got no tolerance so I hope this happens to you and you develop it. :P

ALSO WHAT IF IT WAS A WOMAIN!! (xD Whenever I talk about if I have a kid though I always say "she" too meh)

I was exaggerating when I talked about medical bills, I'm pretty sure if they have a supportive school program many become self-sufficient. (if you're just talking about money, think about the brilliant fully paralyzed guy - can't get a campus job, wants to go to grad school etc $$$)

[Gundampilotspaz]

Amy, I'm saying that I would be unable to do it. I just WOULDN'T beable to handle it.

[amy]

oh

o_o

one thing I wouldn't be able to handle is being a math major, while we are admitting weaknesses.

[Gundampilotspaz]

one thing I wouldn't be able to handle is being a math major, while we are admitting weaknesses.

I'd have to say they are two different things. One is choosen, one is thrust upon you.

[margot]

I'd have to say they are two different things. One is choosen, one is thrust upon you.

I don't know, what if you are Asian?

[Poophy]

Was that a joke?

[Ceraziefish]

I think she was implying that some people are expected by their parents to do certain things. Perhaps the joke was in poor taste but it got the point across.

For example, if I like art, but my parents will only pay for me to go to college as a math major... What then? Student loans, eh?

[Galkar]

You could always double major...