ABSTRACT
Until recently, the experiences of disabled mothers have been unexamined, even within disability-specific research; these women are also notoriously underserved by policies and supports relating to families and parenthood more broadly. Importantly, this lack of information about and accommodation of the experiences and needs of mothers with disabilities is often at the root of the challenges faced by disabled women in bearing, raising and maintaining custody of their children. The dearth of information, policy and services relating to disabled mothering is firmly embedded in historical and enduring ideas about disability and the right to reproduce and rear children. Indeed, it is not unreasonable to speculate that this elision operates as a covert yet consistent extension of the history of disability in general and eugenics in particular. In this chapter, I begin with a brief summary of foundational literature on problematic discourse and practice regarding the ‘appropriateness’ of parenting with a disability. This is followed by a consideration of gender specificity in terms of mothering (as opposed to ‘parenting’) a child while disabled. I then move on to an overview of some challenging intersections between current policies and services and disabled women’s experiences of becoming and being a mother, arguing that although overt and often legal eugenics programmes have been rescinded, covert and quasi-legal means persist in limiting disabled women’s access to reproductive justice. I conclude with some suggestions for researching and theorising mothering and disability, arguing specifically for a feminist and poststructural approach to understanding the barriers and possibilities in policies and practices relating to mothering and being disabled.
