Voices for Life Is a blog dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues.
Our focus is to protect the sanctity of all human life from conception until natural death. This includes protecting babies from abortion, fetal tissue experimentation, and embryonic research; and the general population from euthanasia, cloning, population control and human genetic engineering.
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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
My Experience With Prejudice Against Children With Down Syndrome
by Laura Echevarria
In a very personal way, I could identify with a recent story in the
Washington Post that discussed how routinely medical personnel speak
negatively when a prenatal diagnosis suggests a child may have Down
syndrome.
In 2002, I was about 21 weeks along with our second child. During a
routine ultrasound, when the technician reached my son’s neck and spine,
she kept checking the area and doing measurements.
My husband looked at me with a question in his eyes. He knew that
because I worked at National Right to Life, I was used to seeing
ultrasounds. He wanted to know if I saw anything that was wrong. I
didn’t.
But at our follow-up visit to the obstetrician, we were told that
there was a chance our son, Peter, had Down syndrome. Apparently, he had
a marker that was considered a strong indicator.
Our doctor scheduled a visit with a group practice of perinatologists
affiliated with our local hospital. We would go and have a more
thorough ultrasound that could be evaluated by an expert.
We were upset, naturally, and worried about short- and long- term
decisions we would have to make about our son’s care, if he had Down’s.
We told our 3 1/2 year-old daughter, who was very much looking forward
to having a baby brother, that he might be very special.
Down Syndrome is not a disease, and those who are born with it can lead full, happy and even productive lives. Who are we to decide who should live or die because someone doesn’t “fit in” with our idea of what normal should be. It is God’s choice and His alone as He is the author of life. This story had a happy ending because the mother refused to listen to her doctor’s advice. I wonder how many “healthy” pre-born babies have been killed because a mother listened to the ill advice of her doctor?
Down Syndrome is not a disease, and those who are born with it can lead full, happy and even productive lives. Who are we to decide who should live or die because someone doesn’t “fit in” with our idea of what normal should be. It is God’s choice and His alone as He is the author of life.
ReplyDeleteThis story had a happy ending because the mother refused to listen to her doctor’s advice. I wonder how many “healthy” pre-born babies have been killed because a mother listened to the ill advice of her doctor?