British judge orders man sterilized

A judge in Great Britain has ordered the sterilization of a 36 year-old man with 'learning difficulties.' According to court records, while the man does have the mental capacity to consent to sexual activities he does not possess the reasoning skills necessary to either use contraception or to consent to a vasectomy, thus the State is forcing it upon him.

Records further assert that the man fathered a child with his girlfriend - a woman also mentally challenged, though less so than her partner - in 2010, and that the ordeal has been too much for him to bear. Family members of the man lobbied Authority for this decision, and the female judge for the case acceded to their wishes, after being told another child could cause "psychological harm." Ultimately, she decided it was, "for his own good."

While eugenics supporters laud this as a step in the right direction critics are voicing concerns, noting that it smacks of the State using family circumstances to rid themselves of 'undesirables' by forcibly denying the basic right of reproduction. They warn that this precedent could eventually be extended to include others who fit the 'undesirable' category - as defined by the State - and that the 'for their own good,' justification was a dangerous one to establish into law.