There are so many causes of mental retardation, from genetics (Down's Syndrome has its counterparts with other chromosomes as well) to accidents at birth to problems with anaesthesia during "routine" operations like tonsillectomies. It hardly seems logical to sterilize people who have chromosome anomalies, as they are for the most part unable to reproduce because of the genetic problems they have. What can we say to those whose genes are normal who have simply suffered accidents that damamged their brains? I'm not talking about the Terry Schiavo's of the world, I'm talking about the kid down the block with brain damage from an accident. Sterilizing him or her is hardly going to prevent the same accident from happening to another child, and who knows, they might give rise to the next Einstein or Frank Lloyd Wright or a genius who can bring about world peace? Unlikely, perhaps, but not impossible. Sterilizing people who have accidents that left them with brain damage is kind of like fighting for peace, it's counterintuitive. Save it for people who are genetically impaired whose ancestors were dumb as rocks.
