I didn't like the stuff I saw in the news, so I hope this will suffice. I wrote this for school two months ago:
Pretend you are the parent of a female teenager who is severely mentally retarded. She will be able to live an assisted living environment (people check in with her once a day), but she will never have the skills required to raise a child. Furthermore, you know that your daughter will become sexually active when she leaves your home. Construct an argument for a judge convincing her that your child should be sterilized based on the fact that she cannot give informed consent.
It is a blatantly obvious fact that my daughter Anna is mentally impaired, severely affecting her functioning in everyday life. No amount of work or therapy will ever change her into society's idea of "normal." Nevertheless, I love Anna, and therefore I don't want to see her get hurt. This is why I'm asking you, Your Honor, to consider my request to sterilize my daughter.
When my husband and I were offered the opportunity to put Anna in an assisted living environment, we jumped at the chance. However, this decision opened up a whole new can of worms - one of them being Anna's upcoming chance at sexual activity. Having raised, observed, and interacted with Anna from the moment she was born, it is my opinion that, in the case of sexual activity and eventual pregnancy, my daughter would never be able to raise a child on her own. Not only is she mentally retarded, but she has severe autism and expresses little, if any, interest in other human beings. Her indifference to humans, I'm afraid, would also apply to the baby, and I know that a baby would be no different to Anna than a doll.
Even now, Anna does not understand that humans have feelings, thoughts, sensations, dreams -- to her, we're just emotionless things that interact with her but serve no other purpose. She is, to say the least, egotistical and incapable of seeing beyond herself. So a baby would, in fact, be just another emotionless object, and in her mind, would need no extra care. I shudder at the thought of how neglected a child of hers might be.
Suppose Annna got pregnant and subsequently got an abortion. This, some might argue, would be the best option rather than sterilization. However, as a person such as Anna does not understand the consequences of sex, pregnancy would likely happen again. To prevent the emotional stress on Anna and everyone else involved (and the monetary cost), I would think that sterilization would be the best way. Besides, Anna would never want children - for she does not understand the concept of children - and therefore, she suffers no loss.
In my closing argument, I argue that my daughter Anna be sterilized to prevent pain of both the baby and Anna. Anna is not a suitable parent and cannot understand the concept of taking care of a child. I implore you, Your Honor: please sterilize my child.
Hope that's good enough for you
