Some of the questions I asked people having to do with birth were: If your child was mentally disabled would you care for them?, When is a baby considered alive?, Why do people put restrictions on the ages of the child’s birth parents?, and finally How would you feel if you were infertile? I noticed that all of the people I interviewed said that they would care for their child if he or she was mentally disabled. One interviewee said, “If my child was mentally ill I would still take care of the child because he or she is a part of me.” I also agree that if I were to have a mentally ill child I would still take care of them because I have no right to deny them life or my love just because they have an illness. People with mental illnesses are rejected in our society and most people are afraid of them but I think it’s because we never take the time to understand them.
I noticed that most people said they would be very sad if they were infertile but they would try to adopt children. I also agree because I do plan to have children one day and if I can’t have any children of my own I would like to care for some children that can’t find a good home. I continued a discussion with one of my friends after we discussed why people put age limits on childbirth. Age limits are placed because in some ways we want to protect the welfare of the child. If the child is too young we believe they may not be able to support the child because they didn’t continue their education and if the parent is too old we may not believe they will love long enough to see their child age.
Another issue that I received many different responses from was when is a baby considered alive? One of the people I interviewed said, “I believe a baby is considered alive when you can hear the heartbeat.” And two of my friends also agreed on the fact and believe that a baby is alive once it’s formed in the womb. As my friend said, “How can something grow if it’s not alive?” So this is the same with a child, a child must be alive in the beginning while it’s a fetus, and grow into a fully developed baby. It seems like with birth we pray that our child is not one of the children that end up with a mental disorder or some other birth defect.
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