I feel that birth control is certainly a good idea for all teenagers but if we are talking about state mandated birth control, then I am totally against it. Are we talking enforced sterilization here? I am the mother of three boys with autism and I would definitely not allow the state to make such a decision for them. Currently, all three of my sons are under the age of five. Who knows what they will be like when they are teenagers? I have no idea whether or not they will ever understand even the idea of sex. All of this remains to be seen.
At this point, I have no idea whether or not I will ever be a grandmother. I can tell you that I would be absolutely thrilled to be one. When the kids were first diagnosed, that was one of the major things on my mind: will my boys ever become fathers? Will they ever marry? How about girlfriends during school? Will they ever find love? Research on these topics portrayed a grim outlook. During that time, I tried not to picture Thansgiving Day in the winter of my life, surrounded by several grandchildren. I try not to think that far ahead but sometimes these images invade without warning.
However, I am optimistic. Julian, my 4-year-old, has a little crush on a girl in his preschool class! Her name is Jane. I went to the school a few weeks ago to read to his little class so I know who Jane is. I think she is adorable. I discovered that Julian has a crush on her because this morning, I caught him writing her name over and over again and drawing little x's and hearts everywhere. Julian was singing softly to himself, "Beautiful Jane...Jane is pretty...I love Jane." I cannot tell you how ridiculously happy that made me. For a child who once had no interest in other children, this is tremendous.
I get scared when I think of total government control over my sons and their ability to reproduce. This is a basic human right. It is the natural order of humanity. I wonder if some might think that autistic people will only produce more autistic people. The growing rate of autism is horrifying enough but what if the babies aren't born with autism? We really don't know what the outcome will be.
I also refuse to let anyone tell my boys that they cannot become parents because they aren't "normal". What is normal anyway? My boys are all extremely sensitive and that may help to make them wonderful fathers someday. I want them to have the chance to experience love someday. I want them to experience the birth of their own children. I fully believe that they can all be taught to be good parents. I will be there to help them every step of the way. This may not ever happen, I can't foretell the future, but that doesn't mean I will assume that my sons can't have kids becuase they have autism.