Deaf lesbian couple make sure a child will be born deaf.

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http://www.popmatters.com/column/waitin ... f-and-gay/

I agree.

I don't know this makes is way back to the debate of is it ethical to only allow non-disabled people have children and/or be sperm donors. Not to mention should the deaf genes prevail and the child is born deaf...they will never know what it is like to hear, it will be what they are used to.

I mean its not taking away a conscious beings ability to hear, just attempting to influence that they are born deaf via selecting a sperm donor with generations of deafness. I guess I am indifferent to what people do to sperms, embryos or the early fetal stages before it becomes a baby. Not to mention if this was a deaf straight couple planning to have children they'd essentially be doing the same thing, knowingly potentially giving deaf genes to offspring and somehow I don't think people would be too disturbed by that.

If the deaf lesbian couple wanted a deaf child so much they should have adopted one. This was just a cruel thing.

Deaf culture is very insular. They probably didn't view it as cruel, because hearing people are looked at as outsiders. There is a lot of negativity towards cochlear implants because it's seen as a betrayal, or being something you're not.

Sometimes I worry if "Aspie culture" is too much like deaf or blind culture, especially when I hear parents going on about their low-functioning autistic children. You'd think deaf and blind people would give anything to be able to see or hear, but I've heard about these "societies" where they refuse to be treated for their disabilities, even if it's possible. I have a hard time understanding since being deaf or blind (especially both) must be a LOT more difficult than being autistic.

One thing I can be sure of, however, is that no autistic parents have deliberately tried to make their kid autistic. Not that anyone really knows how, and if my parents made me be born deaf because they *wanted* me to be I would would hate them and disown them for life.

I see nothing wrong with this. The sperm donor would likely have deaf children, if he decided to reproduce by other means. The child will be taken care of by people who understand what it is to be deaf, as opposed to parents who are taken by surprise, or even worse, not up to the task of raising the child. At what point should we draw the line in who's allowed to reproduce and how?

I agree it's selfish.. not so sure about cruel, though. I'm thinking more along the lines of whether or not it should be legal. Technically, it's just two humans coming together to make a baby. I don't think there should be any laws preventing this from happening. Deaf people should be able to donate sperm.. and lesbian couples should be able to have any type of criteria for the sperm donor that they would like.

I can see where people would not be happy with that decision, or their reasons for doing this. But I think it's okay for them to do.

I agree. If the couple wanted a child like them, they should have gone the adoption route.

No different than autistic people wanting an autistic child or hoping their kid will be autistic.

Yes that is selfish but also understandable because they figure they will be able to relate to their child and be a better parent to them. But looking around online, I have also heard of bad stories written by people on the spectrum who were also raised by an aspie parent and it didn't go so well either. No different than hearing about being raised by an aspie by NTs. So having a child who has the same condition as you is not guaranteed you will be a better parent to them. You can be deaf and might have a child that is partially deaf or have a child that can have normal hearing with hearing aides and what is thew deaf parent going to do, refuse them a hearing aide? I am sure that child will grow up to resent their parent for refusing them something they could have had, to hear normal. Do some autistic parents out there refuse to have their autistic children learn social skills and language and communication and learn to be flexible and learn to adapt in life and learn people skills?

They probably just want to make sure that deaf culture is carried forward for another generation. And they're probably also trying to make a statement; that being impaired doesn't mean you have any less right to enter this world and exist. Or even a statement that deafness isn't an impairment at all, just a difference or characteristic that CAN be accepted or even desired in a 'designer' baby.