Vasectomy

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notself

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My nephew is 40 years old and is developmentally disabled. He has the mental development of a child between 10-14 years of age. He has been cared for by his parents who are aging and within the next year or so my nephew will have to be in day care for ‘special adults’. He will still spend evening and nights at home.

For those of you who have experience with developmentaly disabled people, you know that they have poor impulse control and normal to high normal sex drives. The family is concerned that if he is put into day care, he will have sex and there will be a risk that he will father a child that he will be unable to support or care for.

A vasectomy seems to be a rational solution to the situation. What do Catholics think about this??
 
You should post this in the “Ask an apologist” forum. There you will get an authoritative answer.

Paul
 
I am not Catholic and have nothing against Birth control.

But personally I find this disturbing. I have a handicapped child. I also have spent hours with the disabled and have volunteered quite a few times for Special Olympics.

Sterilizing people with disabilities, this is what Hitler did.

And check out the adult day care,they should research well and make a surprise visit, just as one would a child care center, Most should be well supervised. I doubt they allow others to wander off to have sex!
 
From the Catechism:

vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P80.HTM

Respect for bodily integrity:

2297 Kidnapping and hostage taking bring on a reign of terror; by means of threats they subject their victims to intolerable pressures. They are morally wrong. Terrorism threatens, wounds, and kills indiscriminately; it is gravely against justice and charity.
Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity.** Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law.90
**
I don’t think what you suggest is a strictly therapeutic reason for sterilization, however you are better posting in the ask an apologist forum**.
**
 
notself said:
A vasectomy seems to be a rational solution to the situation. What do Catholics think about this??
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Sterilization is gravely disordered. It can never be a moral option, neither for oneself nor for others.

It is especially heinous to sterilize a person based on their perceived handicaps and abilities.
 
strngrnrth said:
Isn’t there any kind of male-only center near you?
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Unfortunately, no. As to those of you who have retarded children, I wish you well when you are too old to care for them. This retarded adult will have no one to care for him during the day and inspite of what you might wish, sex happens in day care for adults. Sex happens in nursing homes. Sex happens. Where sex happens, so does pregnancy.

I have worked for several years in a school for the trainable retarded. Parents and guardians of retarded teenagers routinely got court permission for vasectomies and tubal ligations. I believed it was a resposible thing to do although I fully agree that there are serious moral ramifications.

In both my family stituation and in the cases I am familiar with from the school for the retarded, none of these people could function on their own. They are incapable of holding a job or maintaining a safe home environment. The IQ level I am talking about is 55 to 70.

It is a very sad situation.
 
notself said:
Unfortunately, no. As to those of you who have retarded children, I wish you well when you are too old to care for them. This retarded adult will have no one to care for him during the day and inspite of what you might wish, sex happens in day care for adults. Sex happens in nursing homes. Sex happens. Where sex happens, so does pregnancy.

I have worked for several years in a school for the trainable retarded. Parents and guardians of retarded teenagers routinely got court permission for vasectomies and tubal ligations. I believed it was a resposible thing to do although I fully agree that there are serious moral ramifications.

In both my family stituation and in the cases I am familiar with from the school for the retarded, none of these people could function on their own. They are incapable of holding a job or maintaining a safe home environment. The IQ level I am talking about is 55 to 70.

It is a very sad situation.
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Regardless of the situation, sterilization remains intrinsically disordered and can never be a moral option.
 
notself said:
My nephew is 40 years old and is developmentally disabled. He has the mental development of a child between 10-14 years of age. He has been cared for by his parents who are aging and within the next year or so my nephew will have to be in day care for ‘special adults’. He will still spend evening and nights at home.

For those of you who have experience with developmentaly disabled people, you know that they have poor impulse control and normal to high normal sex drives. The family is concerned that if he is put into day care, he will have sex and there will be a risk that he will father a child that he will be unable to support or care for.

A vasectomy seems to be a rational solution to the situation. What do Catholics think about this??
Click to expand...
Notself,

It is a SIN!

Ufamtobie
 
Back in the 40s my grand aunt was sterilized for this very reason. Her benefits from the government were tied to the procedure. It wasn’t until years later that her very Catholic family found out what group was at the core of this horrible practice. They removed her uterus for no good reason. The government claimed she could not handle menstrual cycles, and they didn’t want her getting pregnant. Beyond just the moral problem of sterilization, then and now…there is also the one very important thing. No one asked her how SHE felt about it.

Her “IQ” was within the range listed. She was absolutely brilliant in certain areas. Who were the eugenicists to say what she was and was not capable of? With help, many people who are mildly retarded are able to marry and have families. (I don’t do the PC term “developmentally delayed” much either. It implies they will “develop more” and catch up. The medical field tends to use more clear terms that aren’t PC either.)

If the person in question is more profoundly retarded then preventing pregnancy isn’t the real problem. STD’s are much more detrimental to a person of such limited mental capacity than a 9 month pregnancy. Herpes alone could be devastating to such a person. It is frustrating to hear that the horrible eugenics movement of the 1920s is still dictating how we treat these precious souls, entrusted by God to our care.

No, vasectomy is not the answer nor tubal ligations or hysterectomies for women. The answer is better care. If they need a constant guardian then fine, that is what they need. Why throw money at a program designed to lower their dignity as people? Education, is possible at all levels. If the person is alive, the brain is too! They can be taught to abstain. And if they can’t be taught to abstain, then pregnancy is not the only problem.

My grand aunt cried at every wedding. She knew that she was different. She wasn’t given a chance to find love and a family. “Somebody” deemed her too much trouble. I think my aunt would have made a fabulous wife and mother. I have health problems that prevent me from holding a job and just yesterday needed help caring for my children…I hope no one would suggest that I need to be sterilized.

I agree that it is a very sad situation.
 
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