Freespirit,
I understand what you mean. I am flattered that you consider me selfless for this...I consider it more like saving myself (and everyone else) a big headache.
People who have mental illness, or any other illness for that matter, are deserving of compassion, and I will not deny them that. However, it does sound like they should be discouraged from having children if the children will suffer with a horrible illness. Not to mention, free cars are not part of the deal; many families across the world get by just fine without a car. If you total your car, tough luck; if you can't afford to replace it, you probably can't afford kids and should not have had them.
(Not to mention this lady sounds irresponsible; if she needs donations to replace her car, that means she didn't have insurance on it, and if she totalled it, she was probably driving recklessly. Sounds like both mom and kid would be safer if they all just took public transportation!)
Gee...I can kind of understand wanting to have a loving family...but honestly, if I were very ill (spastic = seizures?), having children would be the last thing on my mind.
This reminds me about the part(s) on the list about "loving existing children"...I think of loving existing family members. I would not want to take attention away from my husband, my mother and sister, and my best friend in favor of some kid who might not turn out very well.
I think especially if you have mental problems, you should rely more on your adult family, because kids will drive you MORE crazy.
(p.s. and disclaimer: I have nothing against the mentally ill, so don't send me hate mail! I come from a proud tradition of mentally ill people. I just wouldn't wish the problems on anyone else. Also, to clarify something: when speaking about cars I said something apparently contradictory: that many families get by without cars, and then if you can't afford to replace a car you can't afford kids. If you have reliable means of transportation which you can afford, including but not limited to *replacement* of ruined private transportation, then you might be able to afford a family. There are many people out there who never own a car who are fine because they have other arrangements such as public transit. However, if you have only one means of transport and you need donations because you wreck it, then you can afford neither the material cost nor the responsibility of a family. I hope this clarifies my stance on the issue.)