We’ll
have to wait to see what happens in this case from France, but it shows what
can happen when parents are pushed to the limit in caring for handicapped
children.

The
father of a six-year-old girl was arrested early in January in a small town
near Nemours after suffocating her. 
The girl had multiple disabilities, was confined to a wheelchair and had
difficulty speaking. The mother was suffering from depression. Apparently the
man told police that the girl had become too heavy a burden to bear.

Although
we cannot sit in judgement in such cases, the story suggests that the couple
had inadequate social support from extended family or the government. It is curious, too, that in this, and similar
cases, parents would rather kill their own child than place them in a
government institution. It’s an odd way of showing mercy. ~ AFP, Jan 5