Lesbian couple have designer deaf babies

A lesbian couple are the parents of what are believed to be the world’s first designer deaf children.

US university graduates Sharon Duchesneau and Candace McCullough, both deaf, have a five-year-old daughter, Jehanne, and five-month-old baby son, Gauvin.

Both children were born with impaired hearing after the couple, in their thirties, sought out a deaf man to be the sperm donor.

A Washington sperm bank had refused to provide a deaf donor, saying congenital deafness is precisely the sort of condition that gets a would-be donor eliminated.

So Sharon and Candace asked a deaf friend to be the donor, and he agreed.

Sharon, who gave birth to the children, told the Washington Post before Gauvin was born: ‘‘A hearing baby would be a blessing. A deaf baby would be a special blessing.’’

Candace said: ‘‘I would say that we wanted to increase our chances of having a baby who is deaf.’’

Nancy Rarus, of the US National Association of the Deaf, said: ‘‘I can’t understand why anybody would want to bring a disabled child into the world.’’ Both women graduated from Gallaudet University in Washington - the world’s only liberal arts university for the deaf.

They told the Post that they see deafness as an identity, not a medical affliction that needs to be fixed.

They don’t view deafness as a disability, they don’t see themselves as bringing a disabled child into the world. Rather, they see themselves as bringing a different sort of normal child into the world.

‘‘Some people look at it like, ‘Oh my gosh, you shouldn’t have a child who has a disability,’ ‘‘ said Candace.

‘‘But, you know, black people have harder lives. Why shouldn’t parents be able to go ahead and pick a black donor if that’s what they want? They should have that option. They can feel related to that culture, bonded with that culture.’’

They understand that hearing people may find this hard to accept. It would be odd, they agree, if a hearing parent preferred to have a deaf child.

And if they themselves - valuing sight - were to have a blind child, well then, Candy acknowledged, they would probably try to have it fixed, if they could, like hearing parents who attempt to restore their child’s hearing with cochlear implants.

‘‘I want to be the same as my child,’’ said Candace. ‘‘I want the baby to enjoy what we enjoy.’’