ted their human rights. Indiana law does still permit sterilization of the “Insane feeble minded or epileptic, but only if the individual is institutionalized and if he or she is notified beforehand of the operation.” Sterilization of the mentally retarded is an issue that has divided the country for years. Because of human rights activists these cases are finally few and far between. The future does hold many issues that will reopen these cases such as the new era of genetic testing. Should we fear tests for genetic abnormalities will cause discrimination against those with positive tests, and should we spend precious public and private funds developing testing methods for every conceivable genetic cause of mental retardation? These questions lay unanswered, but as state institutions shut down, and the mentally retarded are finally being integrated into the society and community that was taken away from them we need to rid ourselves of the ideas that kept them hidden for so long, and help them join our society. We are all humans, and in America we are granted the God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That should include the developmentally disabled and their right to have a family, and belong to one. Works CitedBaumeiser, Alfred A. “Mental Retardation” Random House. 1969Cowley, Geoffrey. “Testing the Science of Intelligence” Newsweek. 24 Oct. 1994 56-60.Faber, Bernard. “Mental Retardation in Society” Brown, 1973.Hamilton, Anne. “Gentic Testing” The Hardford Current. 14 June 1995 A19Lemann, Niholas. “The Great Sorting” Atlantic Monthly Sept. 1995 84+Mann Jim. “Suit is Linda Sparkman’s Only Recompense” Baltimore Sun 27 Nov. 1987 A1, 3. Presidents Council on Mental Retardation. [Washin...
