Values and Attitudes – Part 2

This is Part 2 of my Values and Attitudes assignment, which is part my Certificate III in Disability studies at Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT).

I hope you enjoy the article and I look forward to any comments you may have, by posting them in the comments function at the end of this article.

People with a Disability should not be having relationships or seeking sexual activity
Disabled people have feelings and emotions like any other human beings. They have the ability to  love those who care for them. Since the beginning of time, humans have found it hard to live alone. They have had a natural need to share their lives with a mate – either of the opposite or same gender. Every individual has a right to choose what they will and won't do within the confines of the law of the country they live in.

In the past, people with mental and intellectual disabilities were forcibly sterilised. Governments legislated  policies knows as Compulsory Sterilisation or Forced Sterilisation.  This was to stop disabled people passing on their so called genetic impurities to their children. It was also used to protect disabled women from the consequences of sexual abuse which may have lead to unwanted pregnancies. An opinion was also held that disabled women were not capable of parenting. These policies were enforced on men and women. It is shocking to accept that governments practised and promoted 'eugenics'.

Wikipedia defines 'eugenics' as the "applied science or the biosocial movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population," usually referring to human populations.

The Nazi regime of Germany practised eugenics and defended their actions on the matter by indicating that it was the United States itself from whom they had taken inspiration. As a result of Germany's Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring 400,000 people were forcibly sterilised.

The United States was the first country to take up the concepts of  eugenics. From 1897 to 1981 65,000 in 33 states were forcibly sterilised.

In Australia decisions on forced sterilisation were traditionally dominated by legal, medical and other professionals. Disabled people were not consulted or allowed to make these decisions. In most cases young girls and women were unaware that they were being sterilised. This was a blatant disregard for an individual's human rights.

Today, 2011 we live in a more enlightened and informed world. We need to reject the sterilisation ideals of the past and move forward allowing all persons the right of choice. People with disabilities have feelings, emotions and have the capacity to love and feel love. It is unfair to dictate to an adult, if they can or cannot have a relationship or sexual activities with another consenting adult.