Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin Gives Birth to Down Baby Despite Abortion Pressure

Juneau, AK (LifeNews.com) -- As many as 80 percent of unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome become victims of abortion, but Alaska Gov, Sarah Palin didn't let her child become a statistic. Palin, who has deeply-felt pro-life views, gave birth to her fifth child this week and the baby was diagnosed with the condition.

On Tuesday, Palin confirmed her baby, named Trig Paxson, has Down syndrome.

"Trig is beautiful and already adored by us," Palin said in a statement LifeNews.com obtained.

"We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives," she said.

'We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed," the 44 year-old governor added.

Trig was born on Friday, one month before his due date, and he weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces.

Pro-life advocates heaped praise on Palin about the news and said she and her family made a courageous decision to keep the baby.

“I can't help but remember Governor Palin’s campaign slogan ‘Take a Stand,'" Debbie Joslin, the president of Eagle Forum Alaska told LifeNews.com.

"Her choice to value life in a very personal way speaks volumes and gives those of us in the pro-life community in Alaska cause to believe that we truly do have a pro-life leader in charge of our state," she said.

"When so many in our culture have chosen to devalue the lives of those who face special learning disabilities, Governor Palin shines as a great positive role model," Joslin added.

Billy Valentine, a pro-life student leader who worked on the presidential campaign of Sam Brownback, was equally excited.

"Thanks be to God that Gov. Palin is pro-life and the baby wasn't one of the 80% of Down syndrome lives that are aborted each year," he said.

"Say a prayer for Gov. Palin and her family and thank God that the baby is blessed with a pro-life family," Valentine added.

The Palins have four other children including Track, 18, Bristol, 17, Willow, 13 and Piper, 7.

A woman over 35 gets quite a bit of pressure for invasive genetic testing and ultrasound tests to detect Down's Syndrome, the assumption being that she'll have an abortion if they find it. Since most women have so few babies, there is a lot of incentive to only have perfect ones and to discard the rest. And quite a bit of this is due to encouraging women to wait until their late 30s or 40s to have children, when they only have time for one or two and the risk of Down's Syndrome and other genetic problems skyrockets.

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