Edit: most of you figured it out anyway. It is Huntingtons.
I (28F) recently found out I have a serious hereditary illness that's going to screw up my life, and I am so mad I can barely type this out. It's a degenerative illness, no cure, nothing. My body's just gonna slowly get worse. And the kicker? My parents have known this could happen my whole life and never said a darn word.
This illness runs in my family. My dad's mom had it. His sister—my aunt—died from it a few years ago. I was living overseas when she passed, and my parents told me it was cancer. Cancer. They lied right to my face. It wasn't until I got diagnosed that they finally came clean and admitted she had the same illness I do. When I confronted them, my dad wouldn't even give me a straight answer. I asked if he had it too, and he dodged every single question, acting like I was overreacting.
My mom, on the other hand, tried to justify it by saying they didn't want me "living in fear." Are you kidding me? I could have been prepared! Instead, they chose to let me walk into this blind. And here's where it gets worse—I have a 2-year-old son. My child might have this, and they never told me I was at risk. I could've had him tested, made informed decisions, anything. But no, they took that from me, and now I live in constant fear for him too.
Then my mom had the nerve to ask me if I would have rather not been born than deal with this. Can you believe that? She turned it around on me, like I'm the monster for even thinking it. And you know what? Yes, I said it. Yes, I would rather not have been born than deal with this disease. They made a selfish choice, and now I'm paying for it. They knew the risks and did it anyway, for themselves. They wanted kids, and now I'm stuck with this. I called them selfish, and I meant every word.
Now, they're begging me not to tell my younger siblings. They don't know about this yet, haven't been tested, and my parents want to keep it that way. They're hoping they'll get lucky, but I'm not going to lie to them. I refuse to let them be blindsided like I was. They deserve to know the truth.
I've gone low contact with my parents. I can't stand to even think about them right now. My mom keeps trying to guilt-trip me, saying they were "just trying to protect me." Protect me from what? The truth? No, they weren't protecting me. They were protecting themselves, from the guilt of knowing they passed this on, and now they want me to protect them too. But I won't. I love my son and my siblings too much to lie to them.
AITA for going LC and refusing to keep their secret, even though they claim they were just trying to "protect" me?
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@Corinthian
Curious what you'd think the Catholic response to this moral quandary would be
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John 9:
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Do you think a couple should still have children if they know they're carriers of something like Huntingtons?
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I could understand why individuals with Huntingtons or other more highly heritable diseases would hesitate to have kids (Catholics aren't quiverfull, you do realize we view willful celibacy in the form of the sacrifice of one's desire as a witness to the reality of Christ and the resurrection as the highest calling, right?) but on a cultural and ethical level see the rise of eugenics and the shaming of those who have children as far greater evils. I mean it's already to the point in liberal/coastal cultures to shame perfectly healthy women for having 3 or more kids and that trend is only rising.
Catholics predicted this long before it ever started all the way back in the 1930s and have been vindicated on how the sexual revolution and a liberal eugenics have played out. Countries like Iceland openly celebrate that they have literally genocided all individuals with down syndrome. Shaming people with Huntingtons or whatever else just creates more of that.
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within a couple I was under the impression having kids was imperative.
my parents had two and my dad said his biggest regret was not having more
hmm I guess I haven't thought about it too hard, I'll have to consider what it means to screen for illnesses like that.
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I hope someday the weight of abortion and what's happening really hits you. Culturally we have hardened our hearts so much. Why is the Holocaust or other types of murder evil but killing children somehow ok? Even if it were ok, I think you can see that contraception and abortion have been a major factor in upending society and gender relations.
No, infertile men/women can still get married as long as their bodies function to perform the marital act and there are no teachings against controlling when you have s*x throughout the course of a woman's cycle (I don't talk about my s*x life on here usually, but unless one of us has fertility issues this is how I've been married for years without having kids yet). It's just the traditional Christian position that the natural law dictates that it is morally disordered to purposefully create barriers to conception, as the purpose of the marital act is both for the unity of the couple and the creation of new life.
IDK how to get you to read long documents but Evangelium Vitae is really worth the effort.
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banger 🔥
📠
I guess I should stop cheering on the Israel stuff
I read a evangelical book who talked about this a lot - God Has a Name.
I'm not sure I can live up to this standard
I got up to 26 and it's now past 1am, I'll have to pick it up tomorrow
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Genesis 4:7
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Keep in mind you aren't allowed to use contraceptives to prevent Parkinson or downs sysdrom babies. That's worse than creating Parkinson/downie babies.
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OP deserves it because God's plan
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If I knew I was a carrier for a terrible genetic disease I would avoid reproducing and thus passing it down. Not like I need any help not reproducing
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Heck @Fresh_Start have seen enough of @Fresh_Start's genetic lineage that @Fresh_Start don't even have a fatal disease and @Fresh_Start still feel iffy about having kids.
Thankfully @Fresh_Start's emotional r-sluration makes it impossible for @Fresh_Start too breed.
Kamala will win.
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