10:26am July 5, 2014

tw: suicide

autisticfandomthings:

honestlyautistic:

autisticfandomthings:

No one is “anti-science” for opposing eugenics.

Opposing efforts to eradicate people like you because doctors don’t consider people like you to be valuable is not being “anti-science”. It’s being anti-eugenics.

Everyone should be anti-eugenics.

I’m actually pro-eugenics.

OK, if this is sarcasm, fucking tag it. If not, ew, and I knew there was a reason I didn’t like your blog.

Gee, thanks.

Eugenics is a thing. It’s always been here. It’s not going away. Simply put, it’s “artificial breeding of organisms to select for and/or against traits”. Wolves to dogs? Eugenics. Want a really beefy cow? Eugenics. Want an Arian? Eugenics.

While most of us cool people (not sarcasm there) with autism love having it, there are others on the low-functioning scale who may not enjoy it. I’ve met more than a few autistics who have tried to commit suicide because they couldn’t fit into the neurotypical world.

What if we could “breed out” genetic disorders like Down’s, Fragile X, and yes, even autism? I’m not saying that there should be a vaccine for a cure, nor that autistics shouldn’t be allowed to conceive with their own gametes if they so desire (that’s up to them), but what if? Just because you’re high-functioning doesn’t mean that you’ll have a high-functioning child, yeah? I’m sorry, but as someone with autism I know that I could NOT care for a child anywhere on the spectrum, whether I be a single parent or have a spouse.

Yes, I’m choosing not to breed because I don’t want my genes thrown into the ring, so to speak. If I even decide to have children, I would get a “genetically sound” surrogate (fertilized by my spouse’s semen) or adopt. My genetics are crap (beyond the autism I have a lot of other genetic flaws) and I’d hate to see them be passed along.

The road stops here, folks.

People like you make my ‘low-functioning’ ass want to procreate. My entire family is disabled or sick and many of these things are genetic and we are fucking perfect as we are. We would not change a thing. I only wish I had the resources to bring up a child, and wasn’t sterile.

My reasons for not wanting a child have absolutely nothing to do with eugenics, mind you. And I think it’s everyone’s choice whether to have kids, for any reason. But making it sound noble to not have kids because you might pass on disabled genes, that just shits on every genetically disabled person who has kids, or has even thought about wanting kids.

I think on balance I don’t want kids. But if I ever did want kids, wanting to pass on my genes would be a big factor. I want to welcome more kids into the kind of family I have, where disability is so normal that nobody even thinks of themselves as disabled. We’re a eugenicist’s nightmare and I’d love to give them more nightmares. Unfortunately, that’s not a good enough reason to bring a child into the world. But sometimes I wish I did want kids, and that I was fertile, and that I could survive pregnancy, just to spite everyone who has told me that I should never have kids so I won’t pass on my horrible low functioning sickie genes.

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