Here is a truly shocking statistic.
Did you know that 90 percent of children pre-natally diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted? That percentage is similar for children pre-natally diagnosed with other conditions such as spina bifida, cystic fibrosis, and dwarfism.
Shocking, isn't it? Truly appalling, in my eyes.
Many of my friends, who are blessed with children with Down syndrome, said they were repeatedly given the abortion option by their doctors. When did doctors become the deciding factor on who is/is not good enough to have a chance at life? Do they not realize how powerful their suggestive words are to a parent who is terribly scared and confused?
Fortunately, there are elected officials who are working to change this. For more information on current legislation in the U.S. Senate, please visit here. Thank you Senators Brownback (R-KS) and Kennedy (D-MA) for your leadership on this very important issue.
8 comments:
Amy,
Like you, I also have friends who have children with Downs Syndrome and they relay the same experiences about being encouraged by their doctors to abort.
But did you also know that there are families ready and willing to adopt children born with Downs Syndrome? Sadly there are more families waiting, than children being given the chance to live.
I've also heard of women aborting children diagnosed with cleft lip/palate. How sad, how very sad that the very vulnerable and innocent among us aren't given the opportunity to live.
And our own children with their challenges...they also might be deemed "less than" by our society, but how can that be when they teach us so much? Cameron has already taught me so much and he's only 5. Who would I be if he didn't exist?
I believe our children are here to teach us the lessons we need to learn the most - those of mercy, compassion and love. And patience (smile)
Thanks for posting this on your blog! You go girl!
Love,
Rebecca
Cameron and Nathan's mom
this is wrong ture some people could die yes those withcf may very well die in early life butthat doent mean we should give the up c oz u never know love u heaps
You know when I had my ultrasound with Eva and they found her heart problem, fluid on her brain, and one kidney they told me she would die before birth and I should think about an abortion.
Believe me I NEVER thought about abortion I let god do what he thought was right and he gave me one of the worlds greatest gifts, Eva.
No matter what the doctors told me I just kept my faith and I am glad I did.
Its sad that people would have abortion because of issues like this they are missing out on some of the greatest gifts of all.
Hugs,
Crystal and Eva
Wow, what a truly shocking statistic. The high-risk OB/GYN who was reading the ultrasounds throughout my preganancy (not my regular OB/GYN, who was appalled) suggested more than once that I should terminate my pregnancy with Katie. I'd already lost three babies to miscarriage--why would I electively choose to give up this beautiful baby girl, who was so full of life inside of me, because she wasn't going to be "perfect" in someone else's eyes? It still angers me and my husband to this day.
Great post Amy!
We knew Tommy had Down Syndrome from the 20th week of pregnancy. Never did the decision to terminate cross our minds, our OB never mentioned but one genetics counselor at the UW said we would be foolish to continue. Colin and I LOVE this perfect child (and his twin brother). God chooses the children we are given. His plan is right and perfect.
Making the decision to have a baby isn't the decision to have a "perfect child". It's a damn miracle if they do come out without challenges! How dare people think that they have the option to have an abortion and have another free "roll of the dice"? You get what you get. It may be easier for me to say because my children are without physical challenges, but my husband and I didn't go into pregnancy without thinking about the "what if's?" And we both agreed, we want to be parents, period. We take what comes to us, no questions asked (and no pity too!)
Hi Amy,
I wanted you to know that there is a great article about this in National Right To Life News for the month of August (Page 20). It highlights Senator Brownback's efforts in a July 18th Press Conference as well as other speakers such as a few self-advocates with Downs. You can also see it online at http://www.nrlc.org/news/index.html.
Thanks for this post!
Kristy
when I was pregnant with my fourth child, I was told halfway through that it was a 'severely handicapped little girl'. I was told that she more than likely wouldn't make it through the pregnancy and if she did, she wouldn't make it through the first year of life. We had four other children (my husband had one with his first wife) and we had to make a hard decision. Would it be fair to our other children to bring this child into the world who would obviously take up so much of our time/energy/money? Was it fair for us to expect them to sacrifice so much? Was it fair to US? We had a long hard think...for about two days....then we turned to our faith (should have been our FIRST reaction!!) and were able to come to terms with whatever we were given.
Guess what? Our perfectly healthy little BOY was born three weeks early at almost 8 pounds!
Ultrasound techs AND doctors make mistakes every single day. God does not.
We become parents through the Grace of God. We should take what we get with Thankfulness and Graciousness!!
Jaye
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