Parenthood and Intellectual Disability: Discourses on Birth Control and Parents with Intellectual Disabilities 1967–2003

In 1975, the sterilization of persons with intellectual disabilities was anned in Sweden. The ban can be regarded as an expression of a changed attitude towards persons with intellectual disabilities and towards their right to equal living conditions during the latter part of the 20th century. The question addressed in this study is whether this shift was paralleled by a changed discourse on intellectual disability and parenthood. I will argue that childbearing and parenthood in relation to individuals with intellectual disabilities have continued to be described as problematic and, therefore, as best avoided. The changed discourse on the rights of intellectually disabled persons, however, made it discursively impossible to suggest a coercive application of birth control methods. Instead, birth control was now introduced as an option and a benefit for the woman.