The right to procreate: intellectual disability and the law

The common law recognizes the right of every woman to bear a child and will not contravene that right unless there are compelling reasons for doing so. The issue of the right of intellectually disabled girls, below the age of 18 years, to ultimately bear a child has now been removed to the courts. Following a recent High Court decision, surgery resulting in the sterilisation of intellectually disabled minors cannot be performed without the sanction of the Family Court. Intellectually disabled women differ in that they are legally adults once they reach the age of majority with presumed full adult rights to consent to medical treatment. Other legal mechanisms are require when they lack this capacity. This article discusses the High Court case and others that have been heard in Australia recently.