Can a mentally ill person get married? Can she or he beget a child? Mental Illness is of course not one category. There are many subdivisions. There are mild forms which do not have any major genetic load to inherit. In severe mental illness the chances of inheritance is high, which means possibilities of getting a child with disorder is high. And upbringing of the child also will turn out to be a problem.

So in severe mental disorders the consideration for marriage and offspring will have to be made on individual appraisals. There is no doubt in that the person to become the spouse should be informed of the disorder and the treatment. As far as possible a pre-marital counselling with the treating psychiatrist is imperative.

An understanding spouse can improve the life style and even retard the progress of illness while a person who feels cheated may cause havoc. Moreover it is not humane to risk the life of another innocent person because the family finds it difficult to look after the patient