Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky

Re: tubal ligation in adult child with Down's Syndrome

No, they do not. First, procreation is considered a fundamental right under U.S. Constitutional case law. Therefore, any attempt to take that right away will face strict scrutiny by the courts. Also, in 439 S.W.2d 579; Holmes v. Powers; a Kentucky Court of Appeals decision, makes it clear that the parents cannot force an adult child to have a tubal ligation.

This case focused on an adult who was mentally incompetent who could not give her own consent due to being incompetent. The court left only one possibility, and that was if: "It may be (though we do not decide) that a legally constituted committee could exercise such a choice, but there has been no inquest and there is no committee."

You can petition a court for a legally constituted committee, but this still may be tested in the appellate courts.