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More than 90 people died in the attacks at pet markets in Baghdad. The twist was that the bomb carriers were two women with Down syndrome. Officials said it was likely the two women had no idea they had been chosen to carry out some fanatic’s murderous scheme. The fact that many children died added to the international outcry.
As horrendous as this cowardly mission was, little room exists for righteous grandstanding. In the United States about 90 percent of babies with Down syndrome are aborted.
This is not to insinuate that lacing explosives to a person and remotely detonating the bomb is akin to the agonizing decision that faces a pregnant woman who is told her baby will be disabled.
Personally, I oppose abortion. But I have never been the mother-to-be who is told that her child will be born disabled. And many of my post-40 friends are wrestling with the knowledge that they face higher risks of conceiving a baby with Down syndrome. Despite rhetoric to the contrary, none of these women callously view abortion as a simple solution.
Much more could be done to help women facing the birth of a disabled child, without stirring the swamp of the pro-/anti-abortion debate.
The Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act would provide more support programs for parents, better information to expectant mothers and would create a national registry of families who want to adopt babies with Down syndrome and those with other conditions. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican and Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat,
Passage would help counter a problem outlined in a March 2005 study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The study found that many women get only negative information from medical professionals when faced with the potential of a Down syndrome baby. They often aren’t told of the waiting lists to adopt such children.
Some anti-abortion advocates complained last year when the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended Down syndrome screening for all pregnant women, no matter what their age. The fear is more screening will result in more abortions. Nazi analogies were made, along with accusations that the United States was stampeding toward eugenics in the rush to rid families of the less-than-perfect child.
The fears are understandable only to a point. Too often the tone seemingly argues against scientific advancements. As if it would be better to know less and safely nestle into a naive cocoon. A more proactive action would be supporting the Brownback/Kennedy proposal along with increased screening.
The number of Down syndrome births has remained relatively stable, about 5,000 a year. This has been because about 80 percent of Down children are born to women under the age of 35, when women are less likely to be screened.
Groups with the most information about the extreme challenges and joys of such children — like the National Association for Down Syndrome — wisely steer clear of the abortion debate.
They know that families awaiting the birth of a Down syndrome child do not need preachy morality. They need solid information, resources and options. Especially the option of knowing the child could be adopted into a loving family and live in a nation that values their existence.
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