Wednesday, September 22, 2010

If the procedure were available, should deaf parents be allowed to select for a child who will also be deaf?

33 comments:

  1. Even though I think the parents should be able to make decisions for their own children, I think there is a line between parenting and crossing boundaries. I think the disadvantages outweigh the benefits because the child will have to struggle in life. If a parent removed the sense of touch of their child by removing the child’s hands most would consider that abuse and wrong. Removing the child’s sense of hearing can also be considered wrong by most people.

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  2. This is a pretty controversial topic. I agree with what your saying Gloria, but I'm not sure I completely agree with what your saying. I think that it would be okay for parents to select a child that would be deaf. Im not saying that it would be completely acceptable, but there are good reasons for them doing it. The parents would have a difficult time communicating with their child once it begins to speak especially when they get to school, etc... it would be easier for the parents, but at the same time it would be difficult for the child, which is why it is so hard to have a clear stance.

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  3. I agree more with Gloria on this one. Deafness is a handicap in our society and hearning is one of the most important senses. I can't imagine living deaf, and I don't think that anyone, including a child's parents has the right to cause an individual to lose out on such a wonderful thing. Although I understand that on some level having a deaf child may be easier for the parents, in the long run it is more beneficial for the child to be able to hear.

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  4. I think taking away a childs hearing on purpose is unethincal. Even though parents do make decisions for their kids, what parent would take away such a valuable thing just so their child could be more like them. Yes it would be easier for the parents but that would be extremely unfair for the child if they never got to experience sound just because of their parents decision to make them deaf.

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  5. i agree with Linda on this, because being deaf is not necessarily a handicap in todays world, there are many points in today's world that would help deaf people. i personally feel that being deaf is not a disability, even though communication can be a challenge. there are many pros that would outwiegh the cons. A few being that your insurence would pay for most of your expenses of buying such things as hearing aids and any visual signalers. you would also be able to apply for tax breaks, even though the only thing that is different is being deaf, you would still have a job the same as almost anyone else. and just think about all the money you'd save on not buying CD's and Mp3 players! being deaf is most like going to a different country and having a communication problem, where you are not able to talk to them and must find other ways to communicate. Being deaf is only a disability if you let it overvome you and become one.

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  6. Linda said that parents would have a hard time communicating with a deaf child once it begins to speak. I agree that this might be true, and it's possible that if the child could hear they would feel really bad or guilty that their parents couldn't. If both parents were deaf, it would probably bring them closer as a family if the child was deaf too. There is a deaf church close to my house and it's a really cool community of people, they're their own little group and they're all really good friends. I wouldn't want a child to feel detached or seperated from their parents for any reason, especially deafnes. So, I think it should be up to the parents as they probably act out of love and doctors act for the sake of medicine and science.

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  7. Matt win3, I can see where you're coming from, but I just dont think that getting tax breaks and saving money etc, is worth being deaf. How would you feel if you were deaf and you knew you parents played a role in that?
    I also feel that the ability to hear is an amazing gift from God that many take for granted, and it's not right for parents to simply take that away from their child, regardless of whatever justificion.

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  8. I agree with Tanya that getting tax breaks and saving money etc, is not worth being deaf. The ability to hear naturally cannot be bought so why should people go through such great lengths to artificially recreate the ability to hear when they can be born with it? Many have brought up the point that being deaf could help the parents better communicate with the child but is it selfish of the parents to deprive their child for their personal benefit if it will alter their child’s lives forever beyond the years of being with their parents?

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  9. I agree with what all of you are saying, but being deaf is a struggle in todays world. I know that if you are deaf, is is very hard for you to communicate with other people. Going into public when you are deaf has got to be a scary thing. Something as simple as going to the grocery store can be hard if no one there knows sign language. How are you supposed to communicate with someone if you need help? Just these everyday struggles would make me realize that I wouldnt want to put my child through that. One the other hand I do think that it would be much easier if i was deaf to have a child who is deaf also. I do think that it could bring a family closer just because they would all be going through the same struggle. With that said, I do think that this question brings up the question of ethics. Is it really ethical to take away a child's sense of hearing? I don't think that it's fair for a parent to decide whether their child could hear or not. What if you were deaf and found out that you could have had the sense of hearing your whole life, but your parents decided to take away that sense so you all could have the same struggles. I myself would be very upset if I found out that someone did that to me. Overall I think it is wrong for a parent to take away their child sense of hearing and make them deaf.

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  10. i would just like to make the statement that i was using the tax breaks as an example (which is one of many benefits), i used it to say that there are benefits to being deaf and not everybody sees being deaf as a diability.

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  11. A coworker of my mother's was a deaf woman who had a hearing child. She knowingly put the child in a school for deaf children whe her son was clearly hearing. The child did not learn "normal" communication skills at the school for deaf children, but instead studies for deaf children. She said that she put the deaf school so that her role in the deaf community would be fulfilled. As she was deaf since birth, and her husband was deaf because of an accident in his adulthood, the child had the hearing gene. Because both parents were deaf, they thought the best way to communicate with their child would be through sign language, and that if he wanted to learn to speak he could when he was at an age to understand all of the limitations and benefits on his own. This child, who could hear as well as you or I, was not able to speak, but could make utterances as would a deaf person. In all honesty, I can see both positions on this matter as far as if she did the right thing or not. I believe that as a parent, your duty is to ensure your child has the best quality life that you can give them. This means a child should have a freedom from intentional disability. Matt, I disagree with what you said that deafness is not viewed as a "disability" to everyone. The money from the government is called "disability checks" money. So the government files it as disability, and the deaf community files for this money under disability.

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  12. If I am not mistaken, I think that there is a way to help deaf people actually hear but again I am not sure about that.

    None the less, I don't like the idea of handicapping a child on purpose. It is like having a parent chop off their child's arm because their arm got chopped off. There is no logic behind this and it is definitely unethical.

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  13. I think that creating a child who cannot hear is not an ethical decision. If a parent is worried about the child being able to communicate with the parent, I think that the parent should encourage the education of sign language. Like what Mustafa said, hindering your child's ability to hear due to the fact that you can't, is unethical. Just because you can't hear doesn't mean that your child shouldn't have the opportunity to either.

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  14. I agree with Jacky it's not okay to make your child deaf if you could. I understand that the parents won't be able to communicate with it well but in a way that's just selfish. They should want the best for their child and making them purposely deaf is ridiculous. I they are worried about communicating with it then maybe they should just adopt a deaf child instead of creating one.

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  15. I believe that it is unethical to intentionally make your child deaf. I feel that if a parent is creating their dream child in a petry dish, it should be with intentions of having the healthiest child imaginable. Choosing if it can hear is equivalent to choosing the child's hair color or eye color-it is wrong and unnecessary.
    If two deaf parents were to have a child that could hear, it would not be convenient for either child or parent, but it is still possible for their child to speak and learn sign language.

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  16. i think that parents should not have the right to do that, there is a limit for everything, this decision will affect the child through out their lifetime, the parents may argue that they have the right till they are 18, but this decision will affect the kid till their death, if the child wants to be deaf, then the child should request it after they are mature and not before.

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  17. I disagree with Jill's comment that "choosing if it can hear is the equivalent to chossing the child's hair or eye color..." I believe that intentionally making a child deaf is worse. You are literally depriving the child of one of the five senses. What if, when learning about the five senses you realized you only had four? Or what if you were never able to access the theraputic depths of music? It's not that lacking hearing makes one a less valuable human being, but it can make one's life less auditorially vivid.

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  18. I totally agree with what Faith said. Music is such an important part of culture especially in this day and age. For myself personally I love music and if someone intentionally took that away from me, even if they did it for the good of our family, I would be really mad. Plus think about all of the stuff you wouldn't be able to do if you were deaf. You wouldn't be able to play an instrument, listen to the radio, talk on the phone, watch tv, etc. I realize that they have adapted most of these things for people who are deaf but it's really not the same. Also not being able to hear is dangerous. You wouldn't be able to hear a car coming or someone yelling at you to stop or anything. Before I said it should be up to the parents but after reading what everyone else wrote I think that it is unethical to take someone's hearing away on purpose.

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  19. I agree with what Sarah said about how not being able to hear is not only an inconvenience, but dangerous. To me, purposely having a child unable to hear is similar to purposely having a blind child. In each case, you are taking away a lot of the child's life and its experiences. Not only that but you are hindering the child's ability to live a "vivid life", as Faith put it. Not that they couldn't live without these abilities, as there are many people that can and do, but I think that it's not right to purposely do it to someone, those people had no choice. I definitely agree with what Nicole said, it's just plain selfish.

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  20. I agree with gloria that the parents should not a have a child because it causes the child to struggle in life. However if they want a child I believe a decent way of having a child is to adopt a child rather then having one that can potentially be deaf.

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  21. I agree with rahil.. Instead of impairing their child of a normal healthy life they should think of what's best for the child instead of what's best for them and go for adoption. There will be a deaf child in need of a family out there somewhere for these parents. Life is such a sacred thing it should not be messed with like that. These parents should leave it be.

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  22. I;m trying to out myself in this childs position and I would be so angry if I found out that I could have been able to hear but my parents choose to take that away from me... It just seems horrible!

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  23. i competely agree with kayla. If parents select to make the child deaf, they are in a way taking away a part of the child's enjoyment. Forcing him/her to not experience the world as every other person may. If this happened by chance we won't be able to blame anyone. But it is never right to bring a child into the world making sure that they have a disability in them...

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  24. Like Rahil said, adoption seems to be the most viable option.
    I feel as though this is often a forgotten option when it comes to touchy bio-ethical issues like abortion or genetic modification. It seems selfish to bring a brand new life into the world when there are so many beautiful and adorable babies out there without families of their own. And if you want a child so badly for the sake that it will look like you or act like you..then don't have a baby...buy a mirror.

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  25. ya i agree with kayla. people can say whatever they want about how it would be easier for the parents but put yourself in the position of that child. i would never forgive my parents if i had the ablility to hear and they decided that they can just take that away from me.

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  26. I think that nature should take it's natural course. If the parents decide to make their child deaf, that is borderline abuse. It's taking away from the child's enjoyment. They will never be able to hear anything!

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  27. I would not be surpsrised if this action is illegal because it should be. It is obvious child abuse like Emily said. Even if the government does allow it, the doctor should not allow the parents to go through with it.

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  29. no because its a choice that will potentialy hinder the child, no one should want thier child with an intental dissablity

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  30. No one should be allowed to put a disability upon another just to benifit themselves. In this case, deaf parents want their child to become deaf too, this is just for their own gain, this would not help the child in anyway, but for the parents it maybe "oh! when my child grows up he/she won't be able to take advantage of the fact that i am deaf" or any other gain which they may see.

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  31. i think that even though everybody here has an opinion on this, its all from a point of view of people that grew up being able to hear and thus making this bias to a certain point. i had looked up accounts of deaf people talking about how being deaf has affected them in daily life and most of them had been saying that being deaf is not a handicap for them and that if they had to choose again then they would stay deaf.

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  32. that could have a bias too, this time from the people who are deaf, they have never experienced sound, humans are naturally given the ability to hear, and due to some mutations some humans may be born deaf, but if being deaf isn't a handicap why are the majority of the humans born with out deafness? would that mean that not being deaf is a handicap?

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  33. On what Matt said, Whether they would choose to be deaf or not the parents shouldn't make that decision for the child. They are taking away the joy of music from that child and while I may be somewhat of an audiophile I feel as though the child would be frustrated knowing that they could have been able to hear and will wonder what sound is like. In fact any parent that wants to deafen their child to make up for potential insecurities is not a good parent. They should be concerned about the total well-being and emotional health of their child. Also for the parents sake, this could really be a weakening point in their relationship.

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