Comments on: Ethics and embryology – should deaf parents be allowed to choose a deaf child?

By: Jazmyn

Jazmyn — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 01:40:21 +0000

I have to agree with Laura. I took two years of ASL in college, and learned from a proudly Deaf instructor. I would like to have a deaf child but I would never try to use new medical advances to insure this, therefore my husband and I plan to adopt a deaf child. Much of the reason I would like to have a deaf child is because many of the deaf children that are up for adoption are not adopted because they are deaf, many potiential adoptive parents do not want to go through the trouble of learning ASL and the chalanges of trying to relate to a child who experiences the world differently than you when it’s hared enough already to relate to the next generation. It’s not so important to me to have this genetic link between me and my children, but I think to people who want to have their own biological children who are deaf these two factors would be equally important.
When we do adopt our child I plan to fully expose them to Deaf culture but try to have them learn to lip read and use speak so that they can try to find a balance between the Deaf and hearing worlds. If their hearing could be improved with hearing aids, then I’ll make them available. Trouble is when parents try to have their kids in both Deaf and hearing culture the children are often seen as not quite Deaf even if their deaf and not really hearing even if they can lip read and speak.
I can understand why the Deaf couple would want to have a deaf child, deafness isn’t a disability in Deaf culture and a child born deaf is often times seen a more deaf than someone who becomes deaf later in life. Then too a CODA (child of deaf adults) isn’t deaf but hearing and only has ties to the culture because their parents are deaf since they themselves are not. Though too, CODAs make the best interpreters there by playing an important role when deaf and hearing meet.
It’s true though, most people are born hearing. Deafness isn’t always a disadvantage but I just couldn’t see myself tring for a deaf child. Infact, I hapen to be of short stature (only 4′11″) before I married my husband I was intentially looking for some one much taller (he’s almost 6′) to try to give my children a chance at being of a more normal height. I just come from a long line of short people and I don’t see my height as a disadvantage really but it has gotten in the way of some things I have wanted to do (like I always wanted to be a flight attendent, untill I found out you had to be 5′2″ to reach the overhead compartments). As a parent I would want to do everything I can to make sure my children have the most oportunites open to them.

By: Kay

Kay — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:04:08 +0000

Isn’t creating a child with a disability contrary to medical ethos? Like do no harm. Aren’t you harming the child? Also the child has no say on this matter and will grow up to have to live with whatever condition the parents gave him/her. What if 20 years from now little Peggy decides she wanted to be able to hear, see or walk after all?

Like one of the posters mentioned, maybe adoption would be a better option for couples who want something like a deaf child. It certainly would give the child a home where it would be appreciated and thought of as having an advantage than a hurdle in his/her life. But we are selfish people, wishing to pass on our genes no matter how hard it may be to reproduce or to pass on the traits we like.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:59:58 +0000

If deaf parents are so eager to parent a deaf child, why not adopt a child who is already deaf and needs parents?

By: Samantha

Samantha — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:19:27 +0000

My argument against parents choosing deaf children is one against imposing limitation of abilities, especially natural human abilities without some compensating strong gain in other capabilities. A deaf child would be disadvantaged in a hearing world. Imposing disadvantage particularly relative to human norm is a real harm to the child and its options in the world.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:53:11 +0000

Another sticky point here is, should the law intervene in these cases, or is it a medical ethics thing where the doctor should refuse to do so?

Sarah’s comments are, I think, a little extreme. Trying to ‘eradicate deafness’ doesn’t mean eradicating those people. We want to eradicate AIDS, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to off all HIV+ people. Personally, I wouldn’t call the parents ‘brave.’ Selfish is more like it.