How can we stop more Down syndrome babies from being aborted?

December 16, 2011 (HLIAmerica.org) - As word spread of a new non-invasive, highly accurate prenatal test for Down syndrome, MaterniT21, the headlines could hardly have been more sensationalistic: The End of Down Syndrome! Will We Cull Those with Down Syndrome? Are Kids with Down Syndrome on the Road to Extinction?

This mainstream response seems to suggest a terrible acknowledgment of what happens to babies diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome. We have been “ending Down syndrome” for years, targeting atypical unborn children as we journey down a road that ensures a decreasing Down syndrome birth rate.

Just last week, a Time magazine article reported statistics pulled from a 2009 edition of the Archives of Disease in Childhood. As a result of more sophisticated prenatal screening, and with nine out of ten babies aborted following the prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, the birth rate for these children has been dropping for decades, decreasing by 15% between 1989 and 2005. This is particularly shocking as the impact of increasing maternal age during the same period should have resulted in a 24% increase in the Down syndrome birth rate. What makes MaterniT21 (and all the new non-invasive prenatal tests based upon maternal plasma DNA) different and foreseeably catastrophic is that it will draw in a larger percentage of pregnant women. Those who reject invasive testing because of associated risks are likely to consent to a non-invasive test. Advocates for those with Down syndrome have braced for just that reality, predicting that the Down syndrome birth rate (roughly 1 in 700 now) will drop sharply once non-invasive tests such as MaterniT21 are more widely available.

Adoption is a wonderful thing. Perhaps something could be tried that way. A lot of people simply do not have what it takes to raise a DS child.

I cannot say for sure that I would until I am in their shoes so I will not cast judgement upon them.....but it seems that being afflicted with Downs’ should not be a death sentence, there should be alternatives.

Little Girl With Down Syndrome Takes Modeling World by Storm by Steven Ertelt | London, England | LifeNews.com | 11/28/11 2:50 PM

The London Telegraph newspaper features a story on little Taya Kennedy, a 14-month-old girl who has Down’s Syndrome but has taken the modeling world by storm. The camera loves her and she now has her own modeling agency that is booking her gig after photogenic gig. Kennedy is just another example of the joy such children and people with Down syndrome bring to the world but who, tragically, see their lives snuffed out by abortion at a 90 percent rate.

From the story: ‘Taya is an incredibly photogenic, warm and smiley child, and that shines through in her photographs,’ says Alysia Lewis, owner of Urban Angels, the prestigious UK model agency that has signed her up. ‘We only open our books twice a year and select just a few new children each season. ‘The standard is high; the desire for places strong. Taya is one of 50 children we chose from 2,000 applicants. ‘That she has Down’s Syndrome did not enter the equation. We chose her because of her vibrancy and sense of fun. Not all children are comfortable in front of a lens and with a photographer looking at them — especially when they are so young. But Taya was so relaxed and happy. She was just what we were looking for.’

Gemma Andre, Taya’s mother, says she is offended when people come up to her and tell her they’re sorry her daughter has Down syndrome. ‘I always believed my daughter was stunning but I thought, “I’m her mum. I’m biased,”’ she says. ‘When people say “poor you” I find it offensive and irritating,’ said Taya’s mother Gemma ‘When the agency rang me and said, “We want her on our books. She’s absolutely beautiful”, I was delighted.--snip--

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The whole article is well worth reading. I would add that unless and until each human is valued because each is an eternal soul, loved by God and worthy of respect because of this spiritual identity, no matter what the earthly body looks like or abilities or lack of same, this hateful practice of "eliminating the imperfect" will continue. Looking at individuals as children of God who are known and loved by Him is the solution. Not conditional but unconditional love, not love because of beauty, or smarts, or wealth, or athletic prowess, musical ability or any other ephemeral external value. Just because each of us is created by Him. And yes, I do judge people who decide to kill an unborn baby. I also pity them, and hope and pray that more and more people choose life and love instead of death for their unborn children.

“How can we stop more Down syndrome babies from being aborted?”

Understand what triggers Down syndrome or what might be used to prevent it from occurring. I remember reading some information a few years back that indicated that some nutritional supplements could be used in lowering the rate of incidence.

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