Should this man father children (naturally)?

I think they should do the IVF or be willing to abort if they can detect it in utero. I feel the same about CF and some other genetic diseases.

It is such a personal decision. I doubt very much that I would.
My diabetes was a huge factor in my decision to not have children.

If he doesn’t want to, no one should have to force him. His girlfriend is being very stubborn. If she wants a bio child and he doesn’t, they should split up.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir The article gives the impression that he does want children naturally but he is battling with his conscience about whether it would be fair on the child or not.

Speaking from a person who is caring for a child with many genetic disorders I would tell them to choose to do the IVF procedure since it will give the child chance to be born without the disorder and not have to go through the things he did or even worse because the thing about genetic disorders they can morph in generation sometimes and get worse.

@Leanne1986 I have read about many people in his position. It really depends on the individual. I can’t judge their decisions because I don’t know what it feels like even if people with anxiety disorders/depression like me (in the same place as me) have said they wouldn’t have children I say I would and did and would again. It just depends. I know some couples who knew very well what they’d pass on and chose to do so. Of course, they’re a bit more open minded about what’s normal and about what’s not and about what’s worth a life and what kind of a life one should want or desire for their children.

Wow, so he was adopted by a loving and generous couple who knew about his condition, and his girlfriend is too selfish to consider adopting a healthy child? Awful.

@nikipedia I don’t think it is awful she wants her own biological child and wants it to be a product of herself and the man she loves. I don’t like she is willing to take such a big risk of having a child be born with a difficult, sometimes painful disease. Two separate things to me.

I can completely understand the need/want to have your own biological children, and I even debated in my mind how bad my genetics are with depression/anxiety and if it’s fair to have children because of it…but fully knowing I’d have a child with a major genetic disorder? I can’t imagine I’d want to put a child through that. I know that sounds awful, but I don’t see why they’d be opposed to adoption.
If she really wants a bio child and he realizes it’d be wrong to do it (and honestly, just getting abortion after abortion because she keeps getting pregnant with TC babies? not cool.) she and him need to break up. If you can’t agree on it, then obviously it won’t work out in the long run because there will be major resentment.

It’s not something I could possibly know the answer to unless I was in the situation myself.
It’s always very easy to know what’s best from the far side of the glen I guess.

@casheroo I didn’t see any indication that she’d have an abortion. In fact, Jono said that they wouldn’t abort if they got pregnant naturally, and that if they underwent IVF treatment, they would screen the embryos prior to implantation. While many people find the procedure morally questionable, it’s not the same as abortion.

In answer to this question, he does sound like he’d make a lovely father, but there are serious consequences if the child has a more severe form of the disease, with great potential suffering for the child. I hope he’ll think long and hard about this.

@lonelydragon I mentioned the abortion thing because someone suggested she be willing to get an abortion if the fetus had the disease.

I brought up abortion, because it could be an option if the wife did not want to go through the IVF procedure, which is no fun and costly. Not that the abortion would be any fun. It would be the same as aborting for downs syndrome for instance.

CVS testing can be done in the 10th week I think, so the abortion would not be very late if they went that route.

My Niece has Down Syndrone and is in her late 20’s. She went through a time when she wanted a child. It was very dificult for her parents to explain to her that her child would also have downs. She is an amazing young lady.

@Judi That must have been so tough on your neice’s parents. That’s a very sad story indeed and I hope that her longing for a child has eased somewhat so that it doesn’t affect the way she feel;s about her life.

@casheroo Oh, I gotcha.