Two more autistic children have been killed by their parents. A too-large number of responses sympathize, not with the murdered children, but with their killers.
When a person can't take care of their pet for whatever reason, we're still horrified when they kill the animal. We ask why they didn't put their pet up for adoption. We don't say how much we sympathize with the owners.
But when a parent can't handle the challenges involved with raising an autistic child and kills their child, some of us aren't horrified. People sympathize with how difficult their lives must be and claim that if only the parents had access to more support services, they would never have killed their child. (Incidentally, some of these parents did have access to services). We forget about adoption, and respite care, and child protection services.
Why do we not extend the same respect and compassion for life to autistic children that we do to cats and dogs?
Not being able to take care of a child (or a pet) is a tragic thing that a society should try to prevent. It does not excuse murder.
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