Crystal Kelley, a single mom, has been called both a villain and a hero for a decision she made about a year ago.
A video of the story is here. Kelley was chosen to be a surrogate for a couple who wanted a baby and each party was very excited about it. About half way through Kelley's pregnancy an ultrasound showed the baby Kelley was carrying was going to have mental and physical disabilities (Wilson, 2013). Upon finding this out Kelley and the parents were devastated. The parents came to the conclusion they did not want the baby to be born and suffer due to these health problems. They offered Kelley $10,000 to abort the baby. Kelley did not agree with what the parents wanted, even though the baby was not of her genetic make-up, and did not comply. She refused to get an abortion, but at one point during a "weak moment" she said she told the parents she would consider it if the pay was $15,000 (Wilson, 2013). After the parents refused, Kelley felt terrible she even considered it and packed herself and her kids up and moved to Michigan where law made her the legal mother of the unborn child (Wilson, 2013). Kelley stayed in Michigan during the last couple months of her pregnancy and gave birth to a baby girl. She did not keep the little girl, but found a couple whom adopted her. Kelley still visits the little girl.
The article goes more in depth about cost and who is responsible for the child's treatment. It also talked about a man (Peter38j) who adopted a little boy who had complex health problems (Wilson, 2013). "He still faces a number of surgeries going forward, but he is the joy
of our lives," Peter38j wrote. "He attacks the world with energy and a
joy that is infectious to those around him. It is a completely different
challenge than our previous three kids, but he's our son and not for a
second do we look at him as anything but our son" (Wilson, 2013). I think what this man said is great. Yes, individuals are born with challenges and certain disabilities, but what's wrong about individuals who aren't normal? This baby was already dealing with ableism before it was even born. She was facing negative consequences due to the disabilities she was going to have (Erford & Hays, 2014). A disability is defined as "mental or physical impairment that affects at least one of an individual's daily activities," (Erford & Hays, 2014, p. 9). The little girl did have mental and physical impairments, but that didn't stop her from growing and staying on track with the rest of the infants her age. She was grabbing for things and babbling. She was becoming her own little person. As a society we shouldn't focus on letting the disability define the individual, but let the individual define the disability.
Article:
Wilson, J. (2013, March 05). Surrogate mother: A new wrinkle in the abortion debate. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/05/health/surrogacy-comments-roundup/index.html?hpt=op_bn1
Reference:
Erford, B., & Hays, D. (2014). Developing multifulcutural counseling competence: A systems approach. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVEweQr2KRA
I feel sad that this girls parents wanted to have her aborted after finding out about her disabilities. I understand that they felt that this choice would avoid her having to suffer but having a disability does not necessarily mean that someone will suffer. I agree with what you said in regards to disability in that a person is not defined by their disability - they are a person first and foremost.
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