This morning I was listening to Joni Erickson Tada on my radio on my way to work. Joni is a well-known Christian author and speaker who sustained a very high level spinal cord injury from a diving accident in 1967. She was talking about the Joni and Friends Family Retreats Program for families who have children with disabilities. Many of the families who attend have children with Down's Syndrome. She spoke about how the children with Down's Syndrome are so full of life and how much fun they have at the retreats. She said it saddened her that doctors offer the option of abortion for unborn babies with Down's Syndrome.
I went online and read some articles about aborting unborn babies with Down's Syndrome. One article said "Noninvasive screening in early pregnancy reduces Down's births by 50 percent." The author of this article was proud of the fact that Down's Syndrome babies are being aborted! Another article said 90 percent of Down's babies in the U.S. are aborted - 90 percent!! People with Down's Syndrome should never be denied the right to life. And Down's Syndrome is only one of the many conditions for which abortion is an option. It's also an option for other birth defects. My husband has Spina Bifida. I know his mother wouldn't have ever considered abortion, but thank God that was not an option during the time he was born. Aborting these unborn babies is very scary and very sad. Why is it okay to put an early end to the lives of those who are seen as less than perfect? We must respect the sanctity of each and every life. I don't mean to judge women who choose to abort these unborn babies because they must be very confused and frightened, but I feel sad when I see people with Down's Syndrome and know that their lives are seen as insignificant because of their so-called imperfections.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
All God's Children
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Hi Gail, I found your site through our statcounter. I enjoyed your thoughts on this. I have read similar comments that show how proud these people are that these children are not being born. How very sad! I have people with challenges in my family and also among my friends. Not one of them is a waste of life. Each of them adds so much to living. Each of them are so valuable and inspiring to everyone who knows them. It's a shame some people think being different means of less value. I can't help but wonder what richness we are throwing away when we tear a child out of a mother's womb. I can hear them crying "I had so much to give the world, if only you would have let me have a chance."
When my oldest daughter was in the womb, testing came back and said she had Down's Syndrome. I was a very young woman and had little knowledge of what they were pushing at. I realized later at home that they had wanted me to abort her. She is completely healthy. They would have killed her on a suspicion and I would have lost out on one of the greatest relationships in my life.
May young women who come here read and learn and heed this warning...Children are ALWAYS mentioned as blessings in God's Word, never as curses or punishment. They are blessings. If you throw them away, you are throwing away a GIFT.
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