Schrizophenic Women Forced to Be Aborted and Sterilized!

Ok, this one is personal! A 32 yr. old woman, whom we will name Jane Doe, and who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder and found to be pregnant, was ordered by a Massachusetts Judge to have an abortion, and afterwards be sterilized. Judge Christina Harms, a Harvard Law School graduate and a former lawyer in the State's welfare services, issued the order for an abortion and subsequent sterilization, to put an end to "these distressing pregnancies", reasoning that, "the woman was not competent to make a decision about an abortion, because of her "substantial delusional beliefs" (which by the way are Catholic)" Jane Doe, insisting that she was a devout Catholic, did not want the abortion, and subsequently gave birth to a son, whom her parents are caring for.

I have a very personal interest in this one, as the child of a schizophrenic mother myself.  The eldest daughter of 5 children, I and my 4 siblings, without a doubt, suffered in more ways than one,  as a result of our mother's illness.  Yet, though I have my scars, today I am a happy wife, mother and grandmother who really relishes LIFE and all that goes along with it. I would never believe, that in spite of all the obstacles that were placed in my way, due to my mother's illness, that I should have never been born!  And I know that my siblings, in spite of all their own struggles, would have to agree with me.   


I firmly believe, based on my own personal experience, that there is no child born, no matter how desperate their circumstances, that God does not bless with the gifts and grace to overcome those circumstances. Today's thinking, which comes down to us from Margaret Sanger, is that only college educated, financially secure and biologically perfect human specimens, should be allowed to reproduce themselves.  Well let me tell you something about that .... I have witnessed just as many persons, born from (so called) stable homes with college educated, financially secure, biologically perfect parents who grow up to be wastrels, selfish narcissists and suffer just as much psychological and substance abuse problems, as I have from those persons born from lacking homes and parents.


SO ...Should my schizophrenic mother have been sterilized, so that I and my siblings should have never been born?  Well, let me tell you something about my mother.  She had an illness ... yes ...  BUT ... that was not all she was!  She was not just a schizophrenic ...  she was an intelligent and very gifted woman who possessed notable artistic and writing talents ... which she passed on to me ... on down to my own granddaughter.   There were so many other aspects to her person besides an illness!  She was a viable human being, who struggled against an insidious illness, to have all the fulfillments of life that every human being yearns for ... such as a family of her own.  Should she have been denied these rights, and neutered like a dog, just because she had an illness? Was that the only answer to hers and her children's suffering?

Regarding Jane Doe, the state appeals court said, "The case of whether to bear or beget a child, is a right so fundamental that it must be extended to all persons, including those who may be incompetent."  


My own granddaughter Gracie, was actually born on my mother's birthday ... inheriting all the creative and artistic abilities of her great-grandmother before her.  Had my mother been sterilized because of her illness, all those beautiful gifts would have been lost, and little Gracie, born with the same strawberry blonde hair and creativity of her great grandmother before her, would never be.  


Are only those people born to so called "normal" parents, viable?  Is my mother's life, or my life less valuable because of our suffering?  As time has gone by and I have looked at others who came from more comfortable and nurturing childhoods ...  do I regret my birth?   Well ... even though there may be times that I feel a certain sadness over not coming from a more happy childhood, I still treasure my own life ... who I am ... and what I've become ... in spite of ...  and I thank God everyday for the great gift of my own life ...  my mother's life before me .... and my little granddaughter's life, who takes after her.