Deaf lesbian couple make sure a child will be born deaf.

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They probably just want to make sure that deaf culture is carried forward for another generation. And they're probably also trying to make a statement; that being impaired doesn't mean you have any less right to enter this world and exist. Or even a statement that deafness isn't an impairment at all, just a difference or characteristic that CAN be accepted or even desired in a 'designer' baby.

Really no different than having a child that's born hearing and getting their hearing surgically removed. It's just cruel.

It's kind of like hearing people wanting they're babies to be hearing, esp if they live in a Deaf culture as opposed to a hearing setting. There are Deaf people who live in hearing settings, yet don't support oralism (process of using oral language and lip-reading). They communicate with the rest of their peers by writing. They go to a hearing school. However, they may teach their peers sign language, or the hearing may already been taught about Deaf culture sufficiently at a certain period of time, despite most of the population being able to hear. You know?

In either case, I guess she/he is still considered Deaf since they a.) refuses to learn the oral language (via lip-reading), b.) refuses to speak the oral language (via lip-reading), c.) signs at home (or elsewhere), d.) does not wear implants, and therefore c.) only uses technology accessible to the d/Deaf (TTY, alarms that light up, etc.)

In both cases of being the only or a part of the very few Deaf person(s) and being in an actual predominantly Deaf community, I wouldn't mind the couple wanting a Deaf child, based on the theory that having someone else to understand the world in the most similar way as you do, is comforting. As a little person, I can imagine another little person wanting a little offspring because they will have someone else to most accurately under you and your experience, more than likely an average-sized person would.

However, the case of my autistic experience may be different. I don't want children, but imagining having another autistic child may be more difficult than having an NT child. I know that most autistics are not born autistic, and those that do usually are so because of prenatal illnesses (like measles). But anyway, having an NT child may be easier because NTs are similar to each other (yet not the same).

Autism, however, is a spectrum disorder. More spectrum-like than being NT, Deaf or a certain type of little person. For example, I'm over-sensitive to noise, and usually prefer a visually calmer lifestyle, if you know what I mean. That being said, the other autistic being loud and always running away from me when I need them may be a bumpier road for me.

what if, despite everything, the child can hear?

Well, more than likely they would 'deal' with the child being hearing, just like hearing parents 'deal' with a child being Deaf. And note that I am distinguishing 'deaf' from 'Deaf', because deaf persons 'assimilate' more to a hearing culture. Most parents don't abandon their child just because they happen to have a characteristic they do not prefer. Most parents would want their children to be calm and quiet in a 'normal' way, but that doesn't always happen. Note that it may be difficult for Deaf parents to teach hearing children to accommodate those who are d/Deaf.