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People with Down syndrome legally don't have the same rights.


You are talking about legal rights, not human rights.


Please elaborate. I would love to know whether you mean that they have (a) more rights than others, (b) less rights than others, (c) different rights than others, or (d) individually different rights among themselves.


It's a little more complicated than that, and varies by jurisdiction, but generally, it comes down to whether or not you understand your actions.

Someone with a learning disability - or Down Syndrome, or mental health issues of almost any kind - can often sue to void contracts that they've signed; or their guardian can sue on their behalf.

Courts can rule you to be mentally incapacitated, and you lose your right to vote in many states in the US: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/10/keeping-th...

I'm sure you can continue your research by yourself at this point...


That explains it - thanks.


[flagged]


What kind of comment, a thorough and thoughtful answer to a honest question?


People with mental illnesses and disabilies like down syndrome may not have legal capacity if illness / disability affects their judgement sufficiently. Which means they can't enter into contracts by themselves and don't have complete freedom over decisions in their life.


B/C I guess. It's not what I mean, it's what's a fact.




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