The perfect baby. What would yours be like? It would probably be exactly like you - except smarter and more attractive. But would you give it your chronically smelly breath? Would you give it your poor eyesight? Would you give it deafness?
Sharon Duchesneau and Candy McCullough did just that. On March 31, the Washington Post profiled these two women and their interesting story. Sharon and Candy are lesbians. They are also deaf. They set out to have a deaf child and have succeeded for the second time.
In addition to their daughter Jehanne, Sharon gave birth several months ago to son Gauvin. Both children are from the same deaf sperm donor, who is a friend of the family. Both children are profoundly deaf, and their mothers couldn't be happier.
The reason Sharon and Candy wanted a deaf child is that they absolutely do not see deafness as a disability. Instead, they see it as part of a cultural identity, known as deaf culture, as do an increasing number of deaf people in America. To them, deafness does not need a cure and is a large part of who they are as a person.
How could a couple willingly inflict what, excuse me, is very obviously a disability onto an unknowing child?
The deaf experience music through vibrations. Yet they can't experience the sweet tones of a Mozart composition with the subtle variations in sound. Until video feed is as prevalent as radio, deaf people cannot fly airplanes or become astronauts.
In the Deaf community, American Sign Language is a fluid and articulate way to communicate. However, once a deaf person is confronted with a non-signing person, the ability to communicate is reduced to well-known gestures like a "hello" wave or "thumbs-up" sign.
Procreation can be one of the most selfish things a person can participate in. When a person decides to have children, often their intention is to duplicate themselves, and to pass on their own ideals and beliefs.
Sharon and Candy have decided to give their child a disadvantage in this mostly hearing world. They decided to create two children in their own image by going out and finding the right sperm. Jehanne and Gauvin can have a well-adjusted life within the Deaf community and may come to appreciate their mothers' views of Deaf culture. Still, their parents deliberately decided to reduce their children's physical capabilities in order to make their children more like them.
Sharon and Candy could have just as nice a family with two hearing children. Their children would be bilingual, knowing both English and American Sign Language. As any immigrant family can attest, this is nothing but an advantage.
The Washington Post told of a gathering between Sharon and Candy and hearing members of their family. Until an interpreter showed up, conversation was stunted. With two hearing children, Sharon and Candy would have two interpreters at ready.
Yes, it's wonderful that the Deaf have made an identity for themselves out of what most view as a disability. Yes, a deaf person can live a long, fulfilling life and enjoy many of the same things as the hearing do. But deafness is a disability.
Deaf adults might not choose to hear if it was possible, just as the blind might not choose to see.
Yet the same is not true of a young child. They have not lived with a disability their entire lives. It has not become part of who they are. If given the choice, would a child decide they would rather not see the blue of the sky? Would a child decide they would not like to hear the sound of raindrops hitting a roof?
From all indications, Sharon and Candy are excellent mothers with two happy children. I wonder if the same can be said when their children are old enough to understand that they could've had the ability to hear, but their parents thought they'd be better off deaf.
Kym Levesque is a journalism sophomore. Reach her at kymberly.levesque@asu.edu.
