What gives the right for either a European nation or a State of the U.S. to be given the authority to play God with God's Children?

     The substantive criteria that guide the decision maker are formulated into four kinds of legal rules. The Hayes opinion adopts the most common approach, which could be termed a "mandatory criteria" rule; under this type of rule a court can authorize sterilization only if several specific findings are clearly made.  This rule places a significant burden on the petitioner, limits judicial discretion, and makes it difficult to establish the desirability of sterilization.
     The "discretionary best interest" standard is a more flexible rule; instead of requiring specific findings, it directs judges to consider whether sterilization is in the incompetent person's best interest.  Grady directs the court to consider the Hayes criteria and any other relevant factors in order to make the decision that the disabled person would make for herself if she were competent.        Finally, a few jurisdictions simply prohibit the sterilization of anyone found by the court to be incompetent to give informed consent to the medical procedure.  On a functional level, the various legal rules seem to promote different objectives.  A rule prohibiting sterilization without the subject's informed consent apparently aims to protect only the right to procreate.  Sterilization is by definition a violation of this right, regardless of the person's preferences.