What Is Normal? (Down's Syndrome)

Christian Post ^ | 9/29/07 | S. Michael Craven

[wagglebee]

Recently, while wandering through my local grocery, I turned the corner, heading up the cereal aisle. I had no more walked ten feet when I caught the attention of a stranger – a young man in his mid-twenties – walking toward me. Upon seeing me, his face lit up and a smile spread from ear to ear. I smiled in return, his pace quickened and he marched straight over to me and with a welcoming voice said, "Hello, how are you?" I stopped, we exchanged a few friendly words and then after a hardy “goodbye,” he moved on to greet the next person similarly.

Within a moment, an elderly couple followed, keeping an eye on the young man who, I quickly surmised was their son. The grinning mother said, "He's very friendly!" I laughed, that was an understatement! I stood there silent for a moment, my spirit energized by this unusual and yet most human of encounters.

This young man was very different from me as I don't normally greet the strangers I meet each day in such a friendly and familiar manner. His congenial nature was heartwarming and he seemed to have a sincere appreciation for other people simply because they were - well - people. This man was, simply stated, better than I. Oh, he was different; he had Down syndrome but as a human being, he was still better than I. He loved without reservation or condition; he did not judge others based on what they looked like or what they were wearing; he understood the gift of human touch and kindness and was ready to share this gift with everyone he could. He was not the least bit self-conscious much less self-absorbed. There was no guile in this man. He was far closer to innocence than those of us who are "normal."

I thought about that young man as I read that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has begun recommending broader prenatal testing for Down syndrome among younger pregnant women. As Joni Eareckson Tada recently reported in World Magazine, "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." That's right, 90 percent of children diagnosed in the womb with Down syndrome are being killed before they can be born.

There is a subtle and sinister shift underway in our culture that is redefining the basis of human dignity and what it means to be human. The Judeo-Christian basis for human dignity rests on the belief that since all men are created by and equidistant from God they are therefore of equal worth before God. Gilbert Meilaender, the Duesenberg Chair in Theological Ethics at Valparaiso University and member of the President's Council on Bioethics adds, "We are equal to each other, whatever our distinctions in excellence of various sorts, precisely because none of us is the 'maker' of another one of us. We have all received our life – equally – as a gift from the Creator."

However, this aforementioned "shift" in thinking seeks to establish a new basis for human dignity that is cut off from this theological and religious foundation. Secular society still seeks to uphold human dignity, however set adrift from its religious moorings there follows a serious crisis in the structure of society's beliefs and its ability to uphold an equitable and true basis for human dignity. Under the new scheme, human dignity seems to inevitably rest on a "comparative" basis.

Meilaender points out that this comparative basis does not see human dignity as a democratic idea equally applied to all but rather "it directs us to speak in terms of worthiness, honor, and nobility: In all its meanings it is a term of distinction. ... In principle, it is aristocratic." While there is no doubt that some excel above others in areas of performance and potential, these are distinctions of human excellence not human dignity. Under the comparative basis, full dignity depends on the extent to which one realizes [or is able to realize] their potential for human excellence. The biblical basis is "non-comparative" and egalitarian.

This brings us back to those infants diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome. Using the comparative basis for human dignity; those with Down syndrome are obviously limited in their ability to achieve excellence in some areas of performance and potential. The result? These children are not afforded full human dignity and thus the decision to terminate their lives is justified.

You may be tempted to think that this is all very philosophical and has little to do with you personally. Not true. If you are a follower of Christ, then there is the matter of truth, which you and I are bound to assert and defend. The truth revealed to us in Scripture gives us insight into what it means to be human – a creation of God for God. Knowing this we can then assert and demonstrate an egalitarian basis for life and human dignity that affords proper care and consideration to all human beings including those with disabilities, either congenital or otherwise. On a practical note, if these comparative distinctions become the consensus then you yourself may become the victim of such thinking when you grow old and your "potential" is exhausted.

Finally, Meileander offers this, "In a speech of 1858, Abraham Lincoln, while granting many human inequalities, also captured something of the problem we have with an inegalitarian concept of dignity: 'I have said that I do not understand the Declaration of Independence to mean that all men were created equal in all respects.... But I suppose that it does mean to declare that all men are equal in some respects; they are equal in their right to 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'" Lincoln went on to acknowledge that many may think the black man inferior, when speaking comparatively in 1858, however, in defiance of the prevailing culture he rejected this basis saying, "He is the equal of every other man, white or black!"

Using the biblical basis for human dignity, human slavery could be both opposed and successfully abolished on reasonable grounds. Conversely, using the secular basis for human dignity, abortion on demand became accepted and codified, the imperfect are being denied their right to life, and soon the aged and infirmed will be put to death when their potential for human "excellence" has diminished.

My life was enriched by my encounter with this young man with Down syndrome. My life has also been made much better and far richer with the birth of my precious daughter, Madeleine who was born with Moebius syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that renders her face paralyzed, her sight and speech affected. As her father, I challenge anyone to lessen her human dignity; as a follower of Christ, I will assert and defend the truth of human dignity whenever and wherever I can.

"Probably the most truly handicapped people on earth are those who imagine themselves free of any limitation – mentors for a new race of supermen." - Steve Talbott, Devices of the Soul: Battling for Our Selves in the Age of Machines
_______________________________________________

S. Michael Craven is the Founding Director of the Center for Christ & Culture, a ministry of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families. The Center for Christ & Culture is dedicated to the reformation and renewal of society through the reformation and renewal of the Church. For more information on the Center for Christ & Culture, additional resources, and other works by S. Michael Craven visit: www.battlefortruth.org

[wagglebee]

as a follower of Christ, I will assert and defend the truth of human dignity whenever and wherever I can.

Amen!

[wagglebee]

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[Straight Vermonter]

We had our third child in August. The OB ignored our wishes and did genetic testing for Downs Syndrome. Grrrrrr.

[BearCub]

I was waiting in the barber shop when a kid (maybe 18?) with Down’s from the state school came in with his chaperone. He immediately came over and hugged me (!) and then sat next to me patting and rubbing on my shoulder. As a guy I found it a bit ooky, but the kid’s innocence and unfettered, heartfelt friendliness was sort of refreshing to see.

[tiekirae]

What a story. Isn’t it disgusting that we live in a society preaching equal rights for individuals with disabilities, yet in the same breath killing unborn children simply because they may be born with a disability (prenatal testing is never 100% accurate, not that it would justify abortion if it was).

It also angers me that a common excuse for aborting Downs babies and other children with disabilities is that it would be too challenging on their parents. Okay, so instead of offering to support those families through a difficult time, we just kill their children? Yeah, that’s a great solution.

[BearCub]

The OB ignored our wishes and did genetic testing for Downs Syndrome. Grrrrrr.

My wife and I just had a baby. We did the Down's tests early in the pregnancy. We didn't do it because it would have changed anything - we did it because if Down's was a real possibility we'd have a LOT of self-education to do.

[LaineyDee]

Downs babies and other children with disabilities is that it would be too challenging on their parents.

They aren't concerned about the parents. They're concerned it would be a liability on the healthcare system. Most Down's Syndrome children nowadays.. live well past the life expectancy or physical capabilities of the parent... and would need a caretaker later in life. It's for the "common good". *cough* /s

[socialismisinsidious]

I have 7 children so the last two were born when I was a bit (ahem) older...I had the screening test done also (the nuchal fold sono and the triple blood screen) not b/c I would abort but b/c if there was something found I wanted to make sure that I made it to the hospital on time (2 of my kids were born at home b/c labor was so short) and I wanted to make sure that medical intervention would be quick if needed (respiratory/heart).

We can blame early testing but killing children b/c they are seen as less than perfect is ultimately on the parents, the mother. No one can force a woman to go have an abortion b/c her baby may have Down's. It's not the testing it's the mothers and on a larger scale our society.

[mainestategop]

A heartwarming yet tragic story. The secular dehumanists on the left want all weak, sick and handicapped babies dead. Just like Sparta and Nazi Germany.

[SteveMcKing]

You may be tempted to think that this is all very philosophical and has little to do with you personally. Not true.

Then why even suggest it, were it not patently true?

The hand-wavy, BS explanation that followed was hilarious.

[ldjack]

29 years ago, I was giving a pro-life talk when someone opined that abortion should be allowed in the case of Down Syndrome. I disagreed and was told, “it’s easy for you top say.”

My wife was close to delivering our sixth child and on the way home, I wondered how I would react if the child had the condition. The next morning I found out. It was a shock, but with a lot of prayer and the love of our family and friends we got through the initial trauma and got on with business of raising our family, including our newest addition, Sean.

The best indication of how the experience went is that eight years later we adopted David who also has Down Syndrome. They have added so much to our family that we can not imagine life without them.

David’s birth parents did not bring him home from the hospital, but at least they let him be born. For that we are very grateful.

The former Surgeon General, Joselyn Elders, said, “abortion is a good thing because fewer children with Down Syndrome will be born” The moral poverty of that statement is profound.

[wagglebee]

Thank you for your wonderful story!

Nobody questions that there are difficulties raising a Down’s child, but there are difficulties raising ALL children. The children and adults I have known with Down’s are among the most loving I’ve ever known. They have a capacity for joy that few of us will ever experience.

[DManA]

I still recall Al Gore mocking people who disagreed with his a the “extra chromasome crowd”.

[RepoGirl]

Just the other day, I was at the gym. One of the TVs was tuned to a station that was showing a story of a Down's Syndrome victorious after a 400 meter swim. I think it was a Special Olympics event. I was moved to tears at the images of her coming out of the water, hugging her trainer and beaming with pride.

As an ameteur triathlete who faced down her first lake swim a few years ago, I know the amount of dedication that went into this girl's accomplishment. I was so inspired by that young lady. She was truly awesome.

To think that because of her chromosonal anomalies, some would consider her undeserving of life is stomach churning.

[Geritol]

Amniocentesis is an invasive test that kills a certain percentage of babies it is performed on. It was recommended for mothers after a certain age, because at that age it was expected to find an equal or greater number of downs babies than the number of “normal and healthy” babies it killed every year.

It was never about saving healthy babies, it was about the medical profession engaging in genetic cleansing against downs babies with a perfect willingness to kill a healthy child for every downs or otherwise “defective” baby diagnosed.

Hopefully the newer tests are both less dangerous and more accurate, but do not trust the medical professions to have the best interests of YOUR child at heart. We were just collateral damage to them.

[ran20]

One thing that happens with socialism is that the state helps those who need help. Special needs being a very big cost right now. I read 1 in 8 students in school is now classified as ‘special needs’.

The state forcibly takes money away from some people, namely high income earners to help those in need. Those same high income earners tend to hold the authority positions in the society, doctor, lawyers, engineers etc.. Because of the nature of human rights, and property rights, those people ultimately will demand a say in the ‘choices’ other people make. When ways are discovered that could reduce the need for the help.

Socialism will always end up attempting to eliminate the ‘useless eaters’. And if it doesn’t the society will fail, I think most socialists actually would want to keep alive every baby with any problems. They view themselves as sort of Robin Hoods.

On the other hand Christian charity to help those in need is different. People can choose to give help, or not. They don’t see a net cost person as a forced burden on them.

[tbw2]

With improving techological aids, these individuals become more capable of living “normal” lives.

[tbw2]

Does Walmart get a tax break for hiring these individuals as greeters? It’s a very public form of charity.