Il diritto alla genitorialità delle persone disabili. Per una introduzione al tema

Abstract

Nowadays we often talk about parenthood and disability with reference to families who have a disabled child and need a proper support. Helping parents is important in the process of disability acceptance: they can find social support networks to improve their Quality of Life and decrease their stress level. But we still speak little about the right of people with disabilities to become parents and enjoy the benefit of parenthood in the community. This right was laid down in Article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also signed by Italy. It says that the States Parties shall take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities in all matters relating to marriage, family, parenthood and relationships, on an equal basis with others. This must be done to ensure their right to marry and find a family on the basis of free and full consent of the intending spouses is recognized. The main problem is not only the legal vacuum, but a cultural, educational, informational vacuum. Only a few studies on this issue are available, so when adults with a disability become parents, they can’t find social support networks and often they must proceed through an obstacle course, sometimes in complete solitude. In view of these considerations, the present article intends to reflect on this issue, noting that great progress has been made in particular in the Seventies, years of global change, but then it slowed down to the present day.