Down Syndome Children

[Bucky]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/us/09down.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

90% of babies who are diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. This is what we call in the US "a woman's right to choose."

How it is acceptable in this country to kill unborn babies based upon mental aptitutde is sick. Why this issue is not a part of the abortion debate is even sicker.

[Doc]

She's 13 and has the mental ability of probably a 6 or 7 year old. I don't believe she'll develop mentally much more than she already has. She is a handful, their house is always a disaster because she is constantly in motion. I personally think her parents could get her to clean up after herself better than she does but she does wear you out.

Having said that, she is one of the sweetest kids you'll ever meet. She is always smiling, always happy. She is everyone's favorite at school, all the kids love her. She goes to school at a Catholic elementary school - there are two kids with Down Syndrome at the school and she was the first. She teaches everyone around her so much more than they can teach her. Abortion was never an option when it was discovered that she probably would be Down Syndrome and I couldn't imagine our family without her. It's a shame that some people are so selfish that they would discontinue the life of an unborn baby because they know it will require a tremendous amount of work to care for the child, well after he/she is born.

[H.I.]

bucky, that's nice. you'd rather have the power to make the choice of who should or shouldn't have babies more so then the ones that have to birth and raise it. that's just arrogant.

[Bucky]

bucky, that's nice. you'd rather have the power to make the choice of who should or shouldn't have babies more so then the ones that have to birth and raise it. that's just arrogant.

Yoda, just take some time out of your insignificant life and spend an hour with a group of down syndrome human beings, who you might consider to be better off dead, and let me know if that small experience would change your thinking....

[H.I.]

Yoda, just take some time out of your insignificant life and spend an hour with a group of down syndrome human beings, who you might consider to be better off dead, and let me know if that small experience would change your thinking....

it is great that you're compassionate about this particular group of people. got no problem with that. what i do have a problem with is people like you that want to dictate public policy on your likes or dislikes.

[JamesHowell]

> what i do have a problem with is people like you that want to dictate public policy on your likes or dislikes.


Why then should other forms of murder be illegal, but not this form?

[Doc]

People who are considering abortion based on a likely chance that their child will have Down Syndrome should at least spend some time with a family that chose to have and love a similar child. My guess is they would hear about how special the child is, how important they are to the family, how much they've learned from the child, and how much joy the child has given them.

[Doc]

I wonder what the percentage would be of the people having the baby if it was not Down Syndrome? Probably close to 100%. So they abort the baby because he/she is going to be born with a mental handicap. I'm sorry but that is selfish and taking the easy way out.

In your examples, the alcoholic is making the decision to have a drink, the soldiers make the decision to join the military, people decide what they eat and don't eat...an unborn baby can't make decisions...

[H.I.]

> what i do have a problem with is people like you that want to dictate public policy on your likes or dislikes.


Why then should other forms of murder be illegal, but not this form?

i don't consider abortion murder because the baby is UNborn. i basically consider it a living organism that's inside your body and you have the right to do with what you would like. i'm pro-choice but i'm also pro-abortion. there's a difference. i wish more people would have abortions. a LOT more people. one out of every two would be a good start. because most of the problems in this world could've been solved with a simple abortion.

[Doc]

Many of the problems we have today could have been solved by one of those 'unborn organisms' that was aborted. I don't even want to go further into this conversation because I would only be beating my head against the wall but your opinion and my opinion are so far apart that we could never reach common ground. I think its best just to say you're entitled to your opinion, I don't agree with your opinion and move on.

[H.I.]

Many of the problems we have today could have been solved by one of those 'unborn organisms' that was aborted. I don't even want to go further into this conversation because I would only be beating my head against the wall but your opinion and my opinion are so far apart that we could never reach common ground. I think its best just to say you're entitled to your opinion, I don't agree with your opinion and move on.

doc, like you said, we have a different opinion. no big deal. here's another thing that bothers me about this abortion thing, though. i have a buddy and he and his wife have been trying to have a baby for past 5-7 years or so. the doctors have told them that they'll probably never be able to have kid but they continually try. during this time they've gotten pregnant maybe 5 to 6 times, losing it each time. nobody seems to have a problem with that. how is this any different than having an abortion? they've been professionally told they'll probably never have a baby and they keep on trying - each one ending in an "abortion" per se.

[Doc]

Because the life that was lost was not lost due to the fact that the mother decided she didn't want to deal with giving birth to the child. It wasn't meant to be. And I've heard numerous stories of people being told that they can never have children and miraculously are blessed with a child. I have friends who tried for 6 years after their first child was born to have another baby and they were unsuccessful. they wanted another child so badly, they adopted and within a year, she became pregnant. There are many people out there who can't have kids who would love the opportunity to adopt one of these aborted babies. My sister got pregnant when she was 16 and she gave her baby up for adoption. Today, they have been reunited - the kid was raised by a family that wasn't able to have kids and had the means to support him. They encouraged him to find his birth mother. My sister is happy because she knows he was well provided for and they now have a relationship.

I believe children are a blessing from God. My wife and I have been blessed with three children; they are the greatest things that have ever happened to us. I couldn't imagine life without them and I can't believe that there are so many people out there who have such disregard for life.

Now I say this but I really don't think that abortion should be such a central focus of every election. If someone wants an abortion, that's their choice and they're the one's who have to deal with it and answer for their actions on judgement day. But nothing irritates me more than people who say they aren't going to vote for someone because they support abortion and yet, they themselves aren't doing anything about it. I have a brother in law who uses abortion as one of his key issues. The irony is, he's self employed and one of his largest clients supports planned parenthood. That seems to be somewhat hypocritical to me.

[Doc]

But I do not support abortion. I support the soldiers who have been put into the war in the middle east but do not believe we are there for the right reasons. The soldiers are doing their job but the people who have them there have a different agenda. I'm not going to get into a political discussion because we'll just be beating our heads against the wall. I entered this discussion because I have a niece who has Down Syndrome and I know she has enriched many lives, touched many people and taught all of us many lessons. It's sad to me that there are people who don't give similar children even a chance to exist.

[Bucky]

Wow, NCT. What on earth does aborting DS babies have to do with Iraq???Sounds like a talking point straight from the main stream press.

Imagine for a minute that 90% of homosexual children were being aborted based upon preference. What would your reaction be? The outcry from the liberal press and politicians would be phenomenal.

What a tradegy it is that 90% of identified DS children aren't given a chance at life. That is horrific.

Have we "progressed" so far as a society that we no longer consider mentally handicapped individuals as being worthy of life?


Don't give me the Iraq BULLSHIT, I am talking about a special group of people are being eliminated from the human race.


Save your Democratic talking point for another discussion.

[Bucky]

But I do not support abortion. I support the soldiers who have been put into the war in the middle east but do not believe we are there for the right reasons. The soldiers are doing their job but the people who have them there have a different agenda. I'm not going to get into a political discussion because we'll just be beating our heads against the wall. I entered this discussion because I have a niece who has Down Syndrome and I know she has enriched many lives, touched many people and taught all of us many lessons. It's sad to me that there are people who don't give similar children even a chance to exist.

Doc, it's an outcry. And comparing the killing of Down Syndrome people to the war in Iraq enfuriates me.

[H.I.]

bill maher made reference to this article last night on his show. his point was how hypocritical people are. something along the lines of, if 90% of people abort kids with down syndrome, more than likely all of those people aborting babies aren’t a bunch of hippy tree hugging liberals. that’s the reason why everybody should just stay out of everybody else’s business. if you get pregnant, and find out that there’s a chance your kid is going to be handicapped and you decided to have it – great. just don’t ask me and everybody else in America to give you a gold cookie and also ask us to help support your kid with special laws and tax dollars.