Friday, November 18, 2011

I am Pro-Choice: Having a Baby with Down Syndrome was the Best Choice I Ever Made

I am pro-choice and I had a prenatal diagnosis that David would have down syndrome and I continued my pregnancy.  Because that is what pro-choice means. Pro-choice does not equal pro-termination.

I am bothered by the people that blame pro-choice people for the termination of babies with down syndrome.  Obviously not all of us make that choice (there really are others like me). There was a recent photo on facebook that just pissed me off (damn social media) a little boy with down syndrome holding a sign saying he is one of the 10% that survived Roe vs Wade.  Just because it is legal to terminate doesn't mean you should.  And even if it was illegal to terminate doesn't mean that people wouldn't.

How can the termination rate for a prenatal diagnosis of down syndrome be 90% if approximately 50% of people in the United States are pro-life, shouldn't the termination rate for pre-natal diagnosis be 50%. 

So what are the pro-life people who terminate saying about a person with down syndrome?  That is what I want to know.  Are they saying that the life of a person with down syndrome is not the same as a person with 46 chromosomes?    Are they saying their political and religious views apply to other people but not them? Are they so scared and misinformed that they think it is the right thing to do?  After someone like that terminates their pregnancy are they then pro-choice or just a hypocrite?

I am still pro-choice.  And selfishly, I wish everyone would continue a pregnancy with down syndrome so I wouldn't have to think about all of the people that think a life like David's isn't worth living. 

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for writing this. Down's kids, like David, are amazing. Always a smile on their face, and they have so much love to give. I hope in time, people can understand what children like David have to offer society.

    "I am bothered by the people that blame pro-choice people for the termination of babies with down syndrome."

    We do blame them, because they are the ones who keep abortion legal. If abortion wasn't legal, most of these precious babies would be saved. Not only babies like David, but perfectly healthy babies too. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand Down's can't be diagnosed until the 2nd trimester. So we're dealing with a fully formed baby, though very small, and not just a 'lump of tissue'. Yet 9 of 10 Down's baby's are aborted. And yes, by pro-life women as well as pro-choice women. Why? I think partly because they don't know what to expect, having never been around a Down's child. but I also honestly think it's because the baby is just not 'perfect'. As the numbers of Down's births decrease, so does the chance for people to see them, love them, and really understand what they have to offer.

    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/w_ParentingResource/down-syndrome-births-drop-us-women-abort/story?id=8960803

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  2. Aww, that's sweet picture of him. Very nice, and very sweet of you to ever think of this.

    -admin

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