Point of discussion: why should a mother murder her disabled children?

One of today's topics in the national newspaper was about a 50-year-old woman who murdered her two adult children (24 and 26) and then tried to commit suicide. She was rescued by her brother, who came to call, but the children could no longer be helped.

The situation: the woman, a nurse, was married and during this marriage two children were born. At first, it could not be seen they were mentally disabled. But as they grew up, the disability showed more and more. The woman tried to do her best for her children, especially after her husband left her to cope on her own.

But apparently it all became too much. The woman left a note, telling her brother and friends she had no energy left and wanted to finish her suffering.

As hard as it is, I can understand this woman. She was left on her own and had to care for two people who needed constant looking after. Friends of mine have an autistic son, and they need to plan even a simple visit to the grandparents. And they have each other and their parents on both sides, who also help where possible.

I remember how hard it is to look after someone. My sister and I cared for our sick mother for only two months, until she could go to a revalidation clinic, and I was dead tired after that time already. It took me about a year to get to my feet once more.

So imagine there comes no end to this caring for. And you can only see the years following each other, with no prospect of change. I think, was I in this situation, I'd hope something would happen to these children and quite honestly, I'd rather spend some years in jail than being condemned for the whole of my life!

What is your opinion?