Say what?

I just heard about a government dude in New Zealand who made the comment that anyone with a genetic disease that could be passed on to any offspring should not have children that will end up being a drain on the health care system. Huh? And what was really disturbing? The internet thread I read it on had an awful lot of people who thought it was a good idea. Wow. That is a scary thought. The government deciding who can and cannot have kids. Do they have any idea how many diseases are thought to be hereditary, at least in part? Diabetes, depression, bi-polar disorders, even some cancers? These people on the discussion board compared it to breeding out undesirable characteristics and weaknesses in horses. We should curtail the breeding of sickly people so we can have a society of healthy ones. Hmmm….only problem with that theory is that even two healthy seemingly perfect horses can have a foal with problems. So who gets to decide who can “breed” and who can’t? According to this thinking, my husband, who has diabetes, and I, who has a long history of depression, never should have had kids. I’m sure our seven girls, who are, at least the older ones, a part of the working, tax paying, productive society they are predicted to be a drain on, will be surprised to hear that. Sometimes I think the world is headed for a very scary place. Other times, I know for sure it is.

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