Pinged from Terri Dailies
8mm
Posted on 09/08/2007 2:09:21 PM PDT by rhema
Every year we look forward to Doug volunteering at family retreats that we hold for disabled children and their moms and dads. He is young and athletic, a senior in college, handsome, articulate, and intelligent. The kids love him (and so do a few girl volunteers). When he first began volunteering, we assigned Doug to a little boy with Down syndrome. The two hit it off wonderfully. This energetic young man possessed a knack for relating to the boy; from that year onward, he always asked to be assigned to children with Down syndrome and their parents.
Recently Doug said, "Joni, when I get married, I hope that my wife and I will have a child with Down syndrome." I was startled, but chalked it up to youthful idealism. Since then, I have come to see that Doug meant what he said. He observed a special joy in children and adults with Down syndrome, as well as a godliness that strengthened his faith. He could also tell these children blessed the lives of the moms and dads to whom he administered over the years.
I thought of Doug earlier this year when the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists began recommending broader prenatal testing for Down syndrome among younger pregnant women. Up until this year, they recommended that only older women who were pregnant be tested. But now, all mothers-to-be are routinely tested. The results? Over 90 percent of pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis choose to have an abortion.
This breaks my heart. And it translates into a strange future for the kids Doug loves. It's going to be a lonely world for them—they will have far fewer friends with Down syndrome in the future. There are 5,500 children born with Down syndrome each year; they incur from mild to moderate mental retardation. These young people will now have fewer community programs, as well as reduced funds for medical research.
This is why there are growing numbers of parents crisscrossing the continent speaking to the blessings—even advantages—of raising a Down syndrome child. These parents are sharing their stories and explaining how a Down syndrome child can bless his siblings and draw a family closer together. They say that young women who are considering abortion don't understand, nor do they realize the benefits a Down syndrome baby brings to a family. Unfortunately, the only counsel these women are receiving from their obstetrician is often a brochure.
I am deeply concerned about this trend. Abortion is now used as a "disability prevention measure." The effort to eliminate Down syndrome translates into the worst kind of social engineering: the annihilation of an entire group of people who are precious. Our alternative: Accept the love and the God-blessed joys of raising a child—a life—that God has given. Jesus says, "Bless the little children, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Even children with Down syndrome.
A person with Down syndrome may never understand how to keep up with the Joneses or how to get over his head in debt. He or she may never be clever enough to sneak behind his spouse's back and look for an illicit affair (yes, men and women with Down syndrome do marry, and some of those marriages are honest-to-goodness models to neighbors and friends). They won't be cunning enough to know how to cheat, weave lies, or how to stab a friend in the back. People with Down syndrome may not have driver's licenses, but then again, neither do I—and I get around quite well for a quadriplegic.
That new ruling by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is a sad reflection of the growing premise in our society that a person is "better off dead than disabled." Human beings are no longer being treated as people, but as things that can be dispensed with, altered, aborted, or euthanized. The medically fragile—whether the elderly, the unborn, or the children Doug serves—are left exposed and vulnerable in a society that has lost its moral bearings, its heart.
—Joni Eareckson Tada is founder and CEO of Joni and Friends International Disability Center
We are working on child #3 and, despite the midwife’s protestations during child #1, my wife refuses to ever get an amnio. She said “what do you expect me to do if the baby has Down’s...kill it”? It was never mentioned again.
But the 50+ young man still believes in Santa Claus and is childlike....and has some physical characteristics I associate with Down...and has some physical problems.
..The 30+ young man is very nice looking, kind, neat, respectful.....but will always need someone to 'oversee' him....and can't have caffeine at all!
They are both neat as a pin...(a tribute to their parents caring)
They both are quiet unless spoken to and the older one is a taskmaster when given a job to do & makes sure everyone else does their part too!
We love them dearly.
IT's obvious their parents have worked diligently & hard with them through the years, but not spoiling them or giving in to them.
The older one ushers at church sometimes and does it well.
When in Bible study they pay keen attention (although they don't ask questions) and with all my heart, I believe they understand, at their level, exactly what their Christian walk is about.
..they both hold down jobs!
I will always remember this as one of my favorite posts.
Beautiful.
I was 37 when my son was born. My (Mormon!) obstetrician recommended amnioscentesis for spina bifida, down's etc. I told him I wouldn't abort regardless, so what was the point. He didn't press the issue.
My nephew has Sturge-Webber syndrome and is profoundy retarded. But it wouldn't be our family without him! I have so much fun with that kid. I can't believe how cold-hearted our country has become. Are we going to start editing Emma Lazerus's poem at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty?
so true; as one talk show host, had opined, "its always the bottom line...follow the money."
hey, 8mmm! good to see you!
It makes you wonder how far we really are or aren’t from the Nazi Regime...purify the race....remove that which is not genetically acceptable....turns my stomach at the thought!
Why do you think that? Probably the more telling question is: How do you view Downs Syndrome and people with disability in general? Do you not believe that someone could value others (in particular others with disability) enough to fight against their slaughter?
This is how the nazi holocaust began. Before they focussed on Jews they emptied hospitals of chronically ill patients and other populations of people who were less than fully capable. "Useless eaters," they called them. All duly sanctioned by the German Supreme Court which established the doctrine of "Lebensunwertes Leben" (Life unworthy of life.)
And yes it was all done under medical authority, by university-educated and licensed physicians.
Someone earlier said the Germans lost the battles but the Nazis won the war. So many average Americans see people as objects of varying degrees of usefulness. It’s sickening.
What I see from your link is that she's a quadriplegic who runs programs for the disabled, with those activities being the source of employment for her and her husband.
There seems to be some cynicism here and questioning of motivation. I would say that examining the fruits of the person in question would demonstrate that her heart is in the right place, for those who are skeptical. Her character is in question and that bothers me. She is not the type to prey upon disabled people, as she knows the life firsthand! I respectfully request that if you are here to degrade her, please leave. Any personal attacks here would not be handling your concerns scripturally, or Christ-like.
What is with the March of Dimes? For several years I have been told not to contribute to them. On another note, many doctors pressure women to abort “imperfect” babies - they present it as a “you don’t have a choice” issue. Very sad. It is a brave new world and not a very nice one.
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