re: Aborting Down syndrome babies

Pretty common with anyone having an amniocentesis. Genetic panel or profile.

Wife and I had our son LATE in life. Us being older an amino was discussed, but the doc asked point blank, “what will you do about it other than prepare yourself?” Basically with us the answer was nothing. Reason he put it that way was the mere risk of the amnio wasn’t worth it. Unless you’d terminate a pregnancy.

So it does happen all the time.

Can’t wrap my head around doing that, but am still a pro choice guy.

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Quality of life for the parents you mean? A person with downs knows no different so it basically boils down to the parents not wanting to "deal with it".

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This is what every abortion is about.

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I almost feel it is cruel to knowingly allow a child with birth defects to be born.

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And not only for the child, it is (arguably) cruel to your spouse and family. I have seen it wreck two different families financially.

My mom is a Pediatric PT that specializes in Down's and Autism. Growing up, roughly once a quarter, mom would volunteer to take in a child for a weekend (or go to their house) to give the family a break from the demands of raising a child with severe developmental delays. She is also one of the strongest pro-choice advocates that I know and this issue is the reason that I will always be pro-choice. In her 35 years of working, she has seen these issues tear marriages apart, ruin families financially, and completely understands the stress that it puts on siblings in these situations. I never judge the decisions that families make in dealing with these situations. Special needs children force couples to commit to make the finances of a single working parent household work and that should always be their call to make.

It is these experiences that terrify when it comes to starting a family in my young marriage.

Severe autism is one of the most cruel things that god (or whatever the heck you believe in) allows to happen in this world. These people live a continuous life of suffering in a world that will never improve for them. I still remember when mom would come home scratched, bitten, and bruised after a rough day on the job. I honestly have no clue how these families make it raising children that don't have the ability to love them. A more distant family friend of ours has a severely autistic 22 year old daughter that is extremely aggressive. Doctors have essentially been forced to heavily medicate her and she is pretty much confined to her room with around the clock supervision between the wife and 2 nurses. It just makes zero sense.

Down's is a brutal battle as well. Higher functioning ones can live low functioning lives a relatively happy human beings. They are a massive drain on the financial resources of this country but I am fine with the argument that "this is an example of what the social system is for." Lower functioning ones can end up living vegetative lives that require 24 hour supervision and care.

I honestly have no clue how single mothers of kids with sever special needs do it from a financial point of view.

Those of you who strongly oppose choice, I challenge you (and your partner) to volunteer to take in a special needs child for a weekend to give families a much need break.

I'm all for aborting babies that would become liberal progressive filth.

Massive resource drain that is a burden on social services, grandparents (if any), and siblings(if any) after parents go to an early grave.

Let the parents have a choice.

A child with Down's absolutely realizes that they have something different going on. Most of the time, they have many wonderful personal traits to make up for their chromosomal anomalies and the mental acuity they lack because of it.

my wife, who has bern working in special ed all her career, would vehemently disagree with your mother. She wouldn't give your opinion much credence. Second-hand knowledge of working with these kids is seeing through a glass Darkly. I know this because I realized that no matter how much I seek to understand this world, I never will.

I agree with her in that regard...frankly, I get her position, at least as much as any one not intimately involved in world can...but it probably goes back to what my wife (and I) believe, that every human life is sacred. If you are not religious, then I guess that means nothing to you. To us, it means everything