Should the Mentally Ill be on Mandatory Birth Control or Sterilized?

This posting is highly uninformed. I am a person with a mental illness, and have dealt with it most of my life. My illness causes frequent mood changes, high anxiety, and occasional delusions and hallucinations. I have been hospitalized three times (of my own free will) due to suicidality, and have had to go on Disability from my job. However, with the help of doctors and hard work to find the right balance of medications and a healthy lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, exercise, exposure to natural sunlight, etc.) I have been able to return to a highly productive life.
I am a Ph.D. student with multiple publications, I have a wonderful long-term marriage and many friends, I am able to care for myself and others, I volunteer, and I am now much better able to cope with stress. I contribute much more to this society than the majority of “healthy” people I know, and I am very happy. Having a mental illness is not a death sentence. We don’t consider sterilizing people with diabetes, asthma, obesity, hereditary cancer, heart disease, addiction, or other medical issues. If you do your research, you will find that many of the most brilliant minds around the world were known or suspected to suffer from “mental illness.” Along with the pain that these medical conditions can cause, they can bring some of the greatest creativity and dedicated energy available to the human experience. A person suffering from mental illness is only someone with great potential who has not yet been properly served by our medical community (partially due to our lack of universal health care and the high cost of medications and qualified doctors). Every person has the ability to become in control of their own lives and happiness if they only find the right treatment for their specific medical condition. The same is true for someone who suffers from a weight condition, an addiction, a type of cancer, etc.
Since scientists have not figured out just what causes mental illness, sterilization will not likely end it. It could be caused by environmental chemicals, stressors, or a specific gene that could somehow be altered or replaced in the future. If you want to create a SuperRace of “average” people, go ahead, but at what point do we stop killing people off and decide that maybe we should just invest more into research and helping those around us and stop trying to genetically create a “perfect” society?
Also, I find the picture at the top of this site offensive. You could just as well have posted a picture of me, an attractive young professional with a smile and a row of books behind me. I have a mental illness, and I am proud to have the advantages it gives me.

As a person with a history of mental illness, I was amazed at the people who had the impression that people with mental illnesses aren’t intelligent. This is absolutely false. I was also struck at the number of people who thought that mentally ill people had nothing to offer society and should be automatically institutionalized and sterilized. In fact, I have held down a job and been a productive member of society for several years. This article seems to feed the stereotype that mentally ill people are the same as mentally challenged people, and that is totally inaccurate.

A mental ill person is able to adopt a child? Probably not.
Why then is permitted to have their own?
Because children is an object than you can create yourself?
Same respect and same rights for everyone!!!

Ok, well, I’m a mentally ill person and I am one who is chronically unemployed, sick, and usually confused. It has been of no benefit to society for me to have children and I think sterilization would have been best for me. I have a friend with the same ongoing problems in dealing with life as I do, as a matter of fact, as of this moment, she’s in a hospital and her daughter is who knows where. If we would have been sterilized, none of this would’ve happened, and we would not have had the children who have ended up with problems just because of us.

As a non mentally ill parent with a mentally ill child I am shocked at the ignorance of what I am reading. I have one mentally ill child out of 4. My daughter is beautiful and loving and one of the kindest human beings on this planet and she is highly intelligent. Shame on you for suggesting that she has no value. And yes she has a major mental illness. Right now she is on birth control and has chosen not to have children at this time; but it was her choice. Shall we start screening all potential parents and deciding who can have children. I was under the impression that this is still a free country. I am appalled that we would dare to treat the less fortunate thus.
Disgusted by this whole thing!!!

Why are you people offended by this article? It is a simple ethical matter. The article states the positive and negative aspects. It is non bias. You people write “Shame on me”. No “Shame on you”, for being so damn ignorant that you can’t finish reading the article because you read something you didn’t like. If you would have kept reading maybe you wouldn’t have your pannies in a wad. As for the first comment, you really think universal health care would help your drug addicton (oh sorry you called it a mental illness didn’t you).

I have to say that I thought the article was well written, non-bias, and informative. At this point there are several degrees of mental illness and disability. I do think that in severe cases of mental disability and illness birth control would be a good idea. However to have sterilization forced on the individual is unfair and in violation of their basic rights as a human being. There are cases of persons living with Autism that are at a high functioning level, would you take their right to procreate away too even knowing that they are a genius at Mathematics, Art, or Music? I think each situation needs to be evaluated from a clinical standpoint taking into consideration the difficulty the individual has with ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living), what their support systems are, and what resources are available for their use in case a child does happen to come along. People get offended so quickly it’s ridiculous! This writer was obviously trying to prevent both sides and “shame on you” for not taking that into consideration when you responded to this article.

i have psychosis and i am aware that it is genetic. if someone like myself with genetic disorders falls under this category, but we are functioning individuals, are we included?

Um, I guess I wouldn\’t be here if they would have inforced this… For everyone stating this article isn\’t offensive obviously they don\’t have any personal experience with being mentally ill.. It might as well compare mentally ill people to animals… I did have a very hard childhood growing up with a bi polar mom who to this day refuses to get help, but I am very happy with my life and I am working to get my bachelors in psychology to help the mentally ill. Immigrants having 10 kids and getting on welfare are hurting our country a lot more then the mentally ill…

And coffeco(panties in a wad girl). It doesn’t matter if its bias or not it is defiantly offensive to someone who has or can relate to a mental illness. you’re the ignorant one. It doesn’t matter who you are god gave you the right to reproduce and its wrong to even talk about taking those peoples rights away just because they have an illness. I would think a psychiatrist would highly advise the mentally ill person not to but if she does that should be her and her caretakers choice. And you must have issues of your own with comprehension/retardation cause your turning someone who has a mental illness a drug addict.