To be fair, having a retarded kid is a life ruiner. And society never acknowledges it. If you have a retarded kid you're supposed to grit your teeth and make that kid's well being your absolute priority, and put on a smile because the kid is so sweet and such a blessing, meanwhile you've signed on for way, way more than the 18 years of feeding and occasional teaching most parents do for their kids. You're in what will likely be a life long commitment to raise and physically care for a person who, depending on the disability, will never be able to care for themselves or contribute to society. And not only do you have to do this, you have to be fucking happy about it. I'm not saying there aren't people out there selfless and giving enough to be genuinely happy to raise their retarded child. In fact, there are many men and women who have taken it upon themselves to care for many retarded children who don't have the benefit of willing parents, and they do a great service to society.

But I would hate to be in that position. I mean, I can think of few things worse to have happen to me that don't involve violence. I'm pretty firmly in the camp of medical termination if a problem is known about ahead of time, and I believe it should be possible and acceptable for people who would be overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for such a child to give the child up to a system designed to care for them, one with those selfless folks I mentioned earlier. Surely there is some middle ground between the horrors of 19th century institutionalization and the way we do things now.