Queensland couple with Down syndrome plan to have children despite parents shutting down dream
Parents of a young Queensland couple with Down syndrome have raised the pair to believe they can achieve their dreams, but now they worry they have fostered unrealistic expectations as the sweethearts plan to have children.
The story of couple Michael Cox and Taylor Anderton attracted worldwide attention in May after they attended a Gold Coast debutante ball for people with Down syndrome, and an ABC News online video about their love story was watched more than 13 million times.
The sweethearts met at a swimming carnival six years ago. They became a couple two years ago and became engaged last November.
In July they competing in the Olympics for people with Down syndrome, the Trisome Games in Florence.
Ahead of the Games, Mr Cox told the ABC in a interview that winning a gold medal at the Games would be amazing, but finding the love of his life would still be his greatest achievement.
“I've got my gold medal right here,” he said, giving Taylor a hug.
Down syndrome sweethearts set sights on gold medal win for Australia
Parents denied bid to forcibly sterilise intellectually disabled daughter
Michael and Taylor believe they are ready for marriage and to start a family, however, their parents are concerned the pair are not emotionally and physically ready for the responsibilities of parenthood.
"Taylor and Michael want to get married and have children and that makes me feel very worried, apprehensive and concerned," Taylor's mother, Catherine Musk, told ABC's Australian Story.
"I don't see parenthood being something that they're going to achieve, or really they probably should achieve," Michael's father Simon told the program.
"It would be very difficult being a child whose parents both had Down syndrome and couldn't have a job and couldn't drive a car and couldn't understand maths homework and those sorts of things."
The couple are confident they would make great parents and are determined to have children some day. Michael said he'd like to have four kids.
"I know that me and Taylor have the skills to be married and to start our own family," Michael said.
Their parents are concerned they would be forced to bare the responsibility of raising the children.
"The advocates will tell us that we should just allow Michael and Taylor to have the same rights as their siblings and we just don't agree," Mr Cox said.
"They're not the ones picking up the pieces."
Taylor's stepfather Gavin Musk mirrored Mr Cox's concerns.
"Do we want to be in a position to do that?"
"Because we are not going to be around forever to make those decisions."
Michael and Taylor's parents don't want to force their children into altering their decision but instead hoped they would come to the same understanding about the issue down the track.
The debate comes after a January VCAT decision where Victorian parents were denied a bid to forcibly sterilise their 25-year-old intellectually disabled daughter who was happy to continue taking the contraceptive pill.
The parents of the woman, known as ZEH, wanted her fallopian tubes tied, believing it was ‘in her best interests to become infertile’, but this was denied by the court.
