Posted on 08/25/2014 7:37:53 PM PDT by Morgana
By now, most pro-lifers have heard the cruel and elitist comments made by Richard Dawkins about aborting Down syndrome babies. Dawkins claims that the “ethical” choice is to abort all babies with Down syndrome, even though these children often lead happy lives and enrich their families and society.
An NBC article by Kimbery Hayes Taylor describes the results of 3 studies conducted by Boston Children’s Hospital. In the first study, out of 2,044 parents or guardians surveyed, 79% reported their outlook on life was “more positive” because of their child with Down syndrome.
A second study found that among siblings of children with Down syndrome, 97% expressed feelings of pride for their brother or sister and 88% were convinced that they were better people because of their sibling. This study polled siblings over the age of 12.
A third study focused on the feelings and attitudes of people with Down syndrome themselves. Among adults with Down, 99% said they were happy with their lives and 97% said they liked who they were. 96% said they liked the way they looked. You would probably not find such high numbers among the general public. According to the study, Down syndrome children grow up to be happy adults.
And yet the abortion rate for Down syndrome babies is tragically high. Some studies put the number at 90%. Our culture puts so much value on independence and individual achievement that human beings who do not “measure up” to certain standards can be rejected and aborted. Children become commodities that can be tested and found wanting and then destroyed. Only if they pass a criteria established by their parents are they judged acceptable and allowed to be born.
Rayna Rapp, a former abortion clinic worker who aborted a baby with Down syndrome herself, conducted a survey of women and couples who sought amniocentesis to screen for Down syndrome and other problems with their babies. All of the interviewees intended to abort if the baby was found to have Down syndrome. Some of the things that these parents say about Down syndrome children are deeply troubling to anyone who values life. Here are some comments from men and women who said they would abort if the test came back positive for Down.
I would have a very hard time dealing with a retarded child. Retardation is relative, it could be so negligible that the child is normal, or so severe that the child has nothing… All of the sharing things you want to do, the things you want to share with a child – that, to me, is the essence of being a father. There would be a big void that I would feel. I would feel grief, not having what I consider a normal family.(133)
I have an image of how I want to interact with my child, and that’s not the kind of interaction I want, not the kind I could maintain. (133)
I’m sorry to say I couldn’t think about raising a child with Down’s. I’m something of a perfectionist. I want the best for my child. I’ve worked hard, I went to Cornell University, I’d want that for my child. I’d want to teach him things he couldn’t absorb. I’m sorry I can’t be more accepting, but I’m clear I wouldn’t want to continue the pregnancy.( 133 – 134)
The bottom line is when my neighbor said to me: “Having a “tard,” that’s a bummer for life.” (91)
I just couldn’t do it, couldn’t be that kind of mother who accepts everything, loves her kid no matter what. What about me? Maybe it’s selfish, I don’t know. But I just didn’t want all those problems in my life. (138)
If he can’t grow up to have a shot at becoming the president, we don’t want him.(92)
It’s devastating, it’s a waste, all the love that goes into kids like that. (134)
I think it’s kind of like triage, or like euthanasia. There aren’t enough resources in the world. We’d have to move, to focus our whole family on getting a handicapped kid a better deal… Why spend $50,000 to save one child?(146)
All of these mothers and fathers (for they are already mothers and fathers to their babies growing in the womb) had chosen to have abortions if the baby had Down. The book did not specify which pregnancies actually tested positive and how many went on to abort. But all of the quotes above were made by men and women who fully intended to kill their babies if they turned out to be mentally challenged.
Many of these people were affluent, successful men and women. They had an idea of what they wanted their child to be like, and if it turns out their baby does not measure up to their expectations, they want to reject that child and try again. It’s a consumer culture that views babies as commodities that can be accepted or rejected based on the parents expectations.
You have to wonder how these parents would react if their “normal” child turned out to have a learning disability or just is less of an overachiever- not as perfect as they want him to be. The sanctity of human life has been defeated by a consumer culture where women have amniocentesis in order to decide whether or not a baby is acceptable to be born, as if they were purchasing a pair of shoes and looking for the most comfortable and attractive ones.
Two of the people interviewed also expressed reluctance to make the sacrifices required to care for a Down syndrome child. Not wanting “problems in my life” becomes a tragic statement when you realize that all children cause “problems” at one time or another. Putting a monetary cost on a child’s life and deciding that the child’s life isn’t worth that arbitrary amount is even worse. I wonder how much money the mother who so cavalierly said “Why spend $50,000 to save one child” thinks her own life is worth?
I wonder if the respondents knew that there is a waiting list of parents hoping to adopt children with Down syndrome. Sadly, I doubt this knowledge would make a difference to those who rejected their children.
Source: Rayna Rapp Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: the Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America (New York: Routledge, 1999)
So it’s all about the parent not about the child!
A parent who MURDERS their disabled child in the womb is NO DIFFERENT to murdering a disabled person in the street. Same thing, and it is delusional to think otherwise. God sits in judgment.
So, how many Downs kids have you all adopted?
People with Downs syndrome make the world a better place. Their lives have definite value.
You seem to cast judgement based on experience. How old is your Down’s Syndrome child?
I would adopt. I’m sure Morgana would too.
I’m curious as to your point in asking this question. It appears that you are suggesting that anyone that believes in basic principlse, like that of aborting downs syndrome babies, is obligated to adopt a down syndrome baby. It’s such an absurd premise that it couldn’t possibly be what you meant...right?
One thing this article doesn’t touch on is how much pressure there is on expecting parents to have amniocentesis (i.e. search and destroy) tests performed. When my wife was expecting I flat-out refused to even consider this option.
It was disturbing to meet so many other expecting parents who knew the gender of their baby-to-be because they had decided to have this test done.
“So it’s all about the parent not about the child!”
Yep, that comes through loud & clear.
Good luck to any children these people do have, I certainly hope they can fulfill their parents wishes for happiness and self-fullfilment!
I have a neice with what I was told was downs syndrome, she is no more than a vegetable, so I don`t know.
I wonder how they will defend their choice when they are at the Gate of Saint Peter?
What does your question have to do with the article?
This article is about people aborting children, not about the lack of people willing to adopt children, which incidentally there is a lot of loving couples who would do this in a heart beat. I think almost 99% of the freepers would not abort any of their children. In fact, I don't even think they would allow the doctor to test for Downs Syndrome
People will defend murder all day long these sad days it seems
Many people would be surprised to find out that they COULD handle it and they and their child COULD have happy lives. They sell themselves short. The idyllic life they imagine sharing with their “perfect” child is no more realistic than the purgatory they imagine they would suffer with their Down Syndrome child. I sure hope their “perfect” kid never gets a serious illness or is badly injured in an accident.
The judgments people make on the value of an individual’s life because they may not be like everyone else is both appalling but also shows their own lack. One has to wonder whether they are a burden to the rest of us because of their selfishness, lack of insight and compassion.
My nephew, Joseph, has Down Syndrome. He opens my eyes to the humor and wonder in life whenever I see him - he is worth no more and no less than any other human being but what he does bring is wonderful because he makes me value life a little more and he gives me a different perspective on what is beautiful and important. I feel sorry for people who cannot see that and who would not welcome a child like him into their lives.
My brother and Sister-in-law have not always found it easy to raise him and I am sure they have had to come to terms with the fact that life will always mean the 3 of them. But they have been gifted with so much more than they could have ever dreamed in Joseph. What a poor world it would be if we only kept the children we deemed as perfect in our own eyes!
WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this......
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It’s all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, “Welcome to Holland.”
“Holland?!?” you say. “What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I’m supposed to be in Italy. All my life I’ve dreamed of going to Italy.”
But there’s been a change in the flight plan. They’ve landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven’t taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It’s just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It’s just a different place. It’s slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you’ve been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they’re all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say “Yes, that’s where I was supposed to go. That’s what I had planned.”
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn’t get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.
Life is a test.
Jesus will grade it.
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