Just listened to the episode on Huntington's by This American Life, which led me googling it which led me looking up Woody Guthrie and his family. He, his father, and two of his 8 kids died of it. It is such a cruel disease. For those that don't know about Huntington's, one of the doctors in the program described it as a trifecta of Alzheimers, ALS, and Parkinson's. It's one of the worst. I am so sorry that you have to live under this shadow. I am so sorry. Watching my parents decline (from other things) has been the worst experience of my life. It's so scary watching the people you love disintegrate, particularly when you know that it's coming.

It's so hard. I don't think that there can be clear-cut ethics around it. Especially when the dialogue steps into e.g. sterilization, pressured-childfree territory. Personally, and if this were my family, I would agree with you. I, in my heart of hearts, would think it's totally selfish of my family to keep perpetuating children into this cycle. In this case, especially because they already have children. I wouldn't even recommend adopting, considering Huntington's hits people relatively young. It's one thing to bring children into this world out of love, despite the risks, it's another to do it "as it's in God's hands". Selfish, oblivious, and ignorant. But I'm not able to define boundaries of its ethics. And I don't think we should. It's never black and white. It reminds me of Robert Latimer's mercy killing of his 13 year old daughter, and how disabled-rights groups protested that while yes, the girl was in constant pain nearly her whole life, she also had moments of tremendous happiness and joy, and did he have the right to speak for the state of her mind, and whether she wanted to live or die? I don't mean to compare your situation to a mercy killing, I simply bring it up because the subject begs the question: is there value to a life in which we can predict the outcome? Is a life worth living if it's spent in suffering? Does a tragic ending devalue a potentially happy beginning?

I don't think there's an answer. Which makes your situation even more frustrating. It's so unfair that your family brings people into the world knowing that there can only be tragedy at the end of the road, and it's the worst kind of tragedy. For anybody underestimating Huntington's, I recommend you look it up right away. I am so sorry you have to bear witness to this. Can you cut them out of your life? It might be healthier for you in the long run. Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves, despite the choices our loved ones are making.