Mentally Impaired Mom Loses Seventh Child To Foster Care

re: Mentally Impaired Mom Loses Seventh Child To Foster Care

Eomaia — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 04:34:17 GMT

I've known women like this, who kept having babies and CPS just kept taking them away. They were never told straight up "Look, you are mentally disabled and are not capable of taking care of a baby. No matter how many babies you have, we will take every single baby from you. We can't tell you to get sterilized, so it's up to you." Instead, CPS keeps a close eye on them and finds something that can be exaggerated into a danger to the child, and then the case goes forward from there. The mother is left thinking that it all happened because she did something wrong, and that she can have another baby and do everything right and she'll be allowed to keep that baby. The movie "I am Sam" raised some important questions. I think some people with disabilities (mental or physical) are capable of doing some parenting, but need other people around for support. We could let mentally disabled or mentally ill women raise their own children while living in a group home for mothers with disabilities. It's easier to find people who want to raise a child as their own and not have to deal with the woman who bore that child, so instead of treating disabled women as mothers, we end up treating them as uteri to supply healthy babies for infertile couples.

re: Mentally Impaired Mom Loses Seventh Child To Foster Care

tiffer — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:38:17 GMT

I don't think that forcibly sterilizing people is the answer. She is still a person! Who knows what has already been done to try to get her to make her own decision about permanent birth control. I'm no expert in this, but I've worked with adults like her. Most of my clients did not have children, but I worked very hard with those who were sexually active to use birth control. I wonder if she just needs more community/institutional support? Oh wait, our awesome government loves to slash those programs.... I'm sure that sterilizing people with an IQ below a certain number would cost less.

re: Mentally Impaired Mom Loses Seventh Child To Foster Care

Cassie — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:17:20 GMT

Ah yes, the flip side of the right to choose. Not always rosey is it?