"Disabilities"

Today in ethics class we were discussing the viability of people choosing to have children with disabilities. This is a topic near and dear to my heart. I am partially deaf, I have 30 % of my hearing, and this basically means that I hear 30 words out of 100. Hearing loss is actually measured in decibels, and of course I can find my paperwork from my test to know what that level is. Suffice it to say that I have moderate/severe hearing loss. In class we were talking about genetic engineering and how one deaf couple decided to have a deaf child. They took care to make sure that it would be a deaf child not a hearing one.

People didn’t understand in class, or I should say there was quite a bit of silence when I began to talk. I had several major points. The first was to use the term “disabilities” is a value statement about the person and what they can/cannot do. My second point revolved around the fact that white people who adopt black children usually run into problems because they can’t identify with the child and the child’s experiences. So I am supportive if a family of deaf people would choose to have deaf children because it is a relational and community issue as well. Another issue I had was that to make a big deal about a deaf family choosing to have a deaf child and in essence claiming they shouldn’t have done that is to claim that I shouldn’t have children. There is a strong possibility that I will have a child that cannot fully hear. Olivia at the moment can hear, so what does that mean? I love her whether she can hear or not, but to say because there was a risk that she would be deaf I should have children makes no sense.

The other major issue I had for me reveals the continued hypocrisy of liberal religious thought. A woman can choose to have an abortion that’s fine. But for a family to choose (where the option is only minutely available) to care on a trait that is considered disadvantageous to the child the line is drawn. People don’t abort babies because their going to be black, they don’t abort them because they are going to be biracial, they don’t abort them because they are going to be gay or lesbian, they currently abort them when a disability is involved.

So it is obvious that I have some problems with this issue. Fortunately Shawn was there and able to hold me accountable for some previous conversations we have had. I have grown into this understanding, when Olivia was first born I wanted her to hear so badly, now I know it will be hard for her to understand me and the situations I’m in. It may be hard for us to connect over some of those particular issues. Hearing people don’t fear that if they go to sleep the fire alarm won’t wake them if something happens. I mention that because I worry that unless Katie hears it in time I might not be able to get Olivia. Hearing people don’t have children asking what is in their ears, they don’t have to ask what a dozen times, they don’t, they don’t, they don’t. I could keep going but I won’t, I honestly pray that God will allow me to grow in this understanding of myself. And that I can do something about it without being hypocritical