mentally ill parents are fit to be parents?

[none]

are mentally ill parents fit to be parents?

[Garja]

depends

[none]

on what?

[mrbiscoop]

are mentally ill parents fit to be parents?

That begs the question : Are non mentally ill fit to be parents? Go VHEMT!
   

[Traveler]

Depends on the severity of the mental illness, and if its serious, whether they have help to raise the child(ren).

On the other hand, mrbiscoop has a good point. We require licenses to drive a car, but raising children, which is arguably the most important task one can take on, requires nothing more than a fertile pair of bodies.

[LoriPinkAngel]

bm

[Nick]

As long as they are not gay.

[Garja]

on what?

Give us something to go on.... thats a REALLY blanket statement.  My best friend in the whole world has a mother that I have absolutely NO DOUBT that she is mentally ill.  Does that make her an unfit mother?  I'm not sure.

[hiraichu]

If their decisions will be beneficial to the child and the world, then why not?
You can still be mentally-ill and function well because you love your child enough.

[joebbowers]

The question is way too vague. There are many types of mental illnesses. Some would have no effect on one's ability to raise a child.

[none]

what if the person was institutionalized then released.

[hiraichu]

As long as they are not gay.

Nick, open up a bit.

Here's a paragraph from the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/16/gay-parents-better-than-straights_n_1208659.html

Gay parents "tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents," said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. "That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement."

[hickdive]

"Mental illness" covers such a broad spectrum that the question is effectively meaningless.

[joebbowers]

what if the person was institutionalized then released.

Institutionalized for what? What did they do? What were their symptoms? What was their diagnosis? What was their prognosis? What medications were they given, if any?

You do realize that your question is essentially "Are sick parents fit to be parents?" yet you aren't defining the sickness.

[mrbiscoop]

As long as they are not gay.

Nick, open up a bit.

Here's a paragraph from the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/16/gay-parents-better-than-straights_n_1208659.html

Gay parents "tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents," said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. "That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement."

Ummm, he's joking. Get it now?

[Garja]

Nick, open up a bit.

Its best to not take Nicks comments as literal.... especially when followed by winky eye emoticons.