On July 9th, 2002 The National aired “Sandra and Her Son: a mother has her mentally disabled son castrated.” This feature report was provocative and unsettling; it exposed many issues regarding disability, parenting and sterilization. It left viewers questioning their own opinions, ethics and values. Should parents have the right to choose sterilization as a treatment for their mentally disabled child?

Sandra is the mother of a twenty-six year old mentally disabled son. She describes her son as:

a four-year-old--he needs about that much supervision, and understanding, except you have to keep in mind that he is in a man’s body, strong as a man and wants to do a lot of things that a man wants to do (http://www.cbc.ca/natinal/news/sandrason/).

Sandra also explains that as her son grew older she became “afraid of his increasing aggression and sexuality” (http://www.cbc.ca/natinal/news/sandrason/). She feared that one day he would get into trouble, that he would hurt someone and end up in an institution” (http://www.cbc.ca/natinal/news/sandrason/). Sandra’s increasing concern guided her to consult doc

The Rights of Parents, Courts and the Mentally Disabled individual:

Although it is illegal to choose sterilization on behalf of your child without a court order, these circumstances still do occur in Canada today.

In our culture we feel its better to preserve a society of people who do not have special needs, rather than create a society that is welcoming of these people.

the eugenic sterilization for people considered genetically unfit. The Court’s decision, delivered by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., included the infamous phrase "Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” Upholding Virginia’s sterilization statute provided the green light for similar laws in 30 states, under which an estimated 65,000 Americans were sterilized without their own consent or that of a family member (http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics).

Some topics in this essay:
Rowe Savage, History Eugenics, Sabagh Edgerton’s, Study July, Sandra Crockett, Two’s Holocaust, Carrie Buck, Disease Syndrome, Solution Compulsory, United Fourteenth, mentally disabled, disabled people, disabled person, compulsory sterilization, mentally disabled person, disabled son, developmentally handicapped, sterilization disabled, mentally retarded, mental health, eugenics movement, mentally disabled son, mental health patients, sterilization disabled people, mentally disabled people,