Down Syndrome screening and the revival of eugenics
By Ken Falkenstein | Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 | Policyby Ken and Kim Falkenstein
It is all the rage right now to declare oneself a member of some percentage of something. Here’s ours: 92% of babies with Down Syndrome whose parents learn of the condition during pregnancy are aborted. More specifically, 6,000 babies with Down Syndrome are born each year, while 69,000 are aborted simply because they’re not “normal.”
Our son Josh is part of the other 8%.
We understand the emotional devastation of learning that your unborn child has Down Syndrome, and believe us, we’re no heroes.
Early in our pregnancy, we underwent genetic counseling. At the time, we knew were having twins, but that was all we knew. We were told that we could have a procedure called a CVS at 12 weeks that would reveal with a very high rate of accuracy the sex and genetic condition of our twin sons. We were also told that there was a 2% risk that the procedure would result in a miscarriage. We decided to go forward with the CVS.
While we were waiting for the results, we discussed what we would do if one or both of the babies was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. I’m ashamed to say that we considered the option of abortion.
We got the call a few days later: Both of the babies were boys – and one of them had Down Syndrome.
We hung up the phone feeling dumbfounded and devastated. After a few silent tear-filled minutes, one of us finally voiced the question that we were both thinking: “What are we going to do?”
Joshua Falkenstein
We agreed immediately, without any need for discussion, that there was no question: The fact that our son was not going to be the “normal” child that we imagined he’d be was a shocking surprise, but it didn’t change the fact that he was our son, and we loved him no matter how God created him. There was no choice to make.
Unfortunately, 92% of parents in our situation see it differently and choose to abort the pregnancy. In doing so, they let fear overcome love, and they not only snuff out a precious and valuable life at its inception, but they deprive themselves of the joy of raising a child who will bring a joy to their lives that they could never have imagined. Indeed, in a recent survey of parents of children with Down Syndrome, 79% said their child had given them a more positive outlook on life, while only 4% said they regretted having the child.
This week, we were horrified to learn that a study that we had agreed to help is now expected to result in an increase in abortions of children with Down Syndrome.
Last year, when we met with the genetic counselor early in the pregnancy, Kim was asked to donate blood to a study to develop a new screening test that could be used to make the same kind of diagnosis as a CVS weeks earlier in the pregnancy through a simple and safe blood test that would eliminate the risk of miscarriage. We agreed.
That blood screening test is now available and being used in 20 cities – and the consequences of the availability of this test are horrifying:
A new, simple way to detect Down syndrome in a fetus means the condition will be virtually extinct. . . .
The safer prenatal screenings will likely mean more women will be tested, and the number of women carrying babies with Down syndrome who terminate their pregnancies could increase, if not skyrocket.
Keep in mind that the “skyrocket” increase in abortions would be from the already appalling current level of 92%.
Put simply, when everyone can learn early in the pregnancy whether their child has Down Syndrome, then everyone who is pregnant with a child with Down Syndrome can abort that child.
Worse, many will be encouraged to abort their child. Already, 23% of genetic counselors admit to presenting only negative information about Down Syndrome and encouraging parents to abort babies with Down Syndrome.
“This is the beginning of a long-term enterprise of eugenics whereby we are about to have more and more powerful technologies that will allow us to determine the physical and genetic legacy of our children,” [Paul Root Wolpe, director of the center for ethics at Emory University] says.
The wildest dreams of the eugenicists of yore are about to be realized: Down Syndrome is about to be expunged from the Earth – at the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of innocent and defenseless babies whose lives will be snuffed out in infancy because we as a society decided that their differences from us rendered them unworthy to live.
We agreed to participate in the study that led to this screening test because we wanted to help eliminating the risk of miscarriage. It never occurred to us that the actual result of this study and of the resulting screening test would be the extermination of hundreds of thousands of precious, beautiful, and innocent children simply because our society thinks they’re not pretty enough or smart enough to deserve life.
If we sound bitter, we are. We feel duped, and we feel disgusted and ashamed that we helped contribute to a screening test that has already resulted in a revival of the evil of eugenics.
Monica and David Martinez
But, ironically, bitterness is an emotion rarely felt among the gentle and loving souls of our brethren with Down Syndrome. Monica and David Martinez are a married couple who both have Down Syndrome. Monica responded to the news about the development of the new blood screening test and its terrible consequences by posting the following on her Facebook page:
Yesterday I posted an article which declared “the end of Down syndrome”. Many of you replied with hurt and anger, but I encourage you to use this as motivation to move things forward. The more we encourage our cousins, sons, daughters and family members/friends with Down syndrome or other disabilities to live, work and love out in the community, the more the world begins to see what we see every day…just how amazingly ordinary a person with a disability can be.
Thank God that Monica Martinez was part of the other 8%.
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About the author
Ken Falkenstein has been a staffer in the United States Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates. He has managed political campaigns. He was a military intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army in West Germany during the Cold War. He is currently the Vice President of the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads and practices as a civil litigation attorney with the law firm of Poole Mahoney PC in Virginia Beach. His concern for his kids' future is what most informs his writing.
Comments
11 Responses to "Down Syndrome screening and the revival of eugenics"
Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood are examples that there is no revival of eugenics. It’s the discussion.
It is not taboo to discuss the option of abortion, it is the act. Just as it should not be taboo to discuss eugenics or communism within the philosophical realms, but it is murderous to not.
The consequences of your decision will be rewarded.
Red pill or blue?
It’s not just Down Syndrome, either. For any genetic defect, practitioners are offering parents the option to abort their child – even for some defects that are readily correctable, such as a cleft lip (I have personal experience with this). One has to wonder how many wonderful lives have been taken from us because of doctors even saying that abortion is an option? I thought doctors were supposed to stress saving life?
If the 8% were to replace the 535 elected “normal” representatives we have this country could well be better off.
Famous people we learn about in history books have been speculated to have had mental abnormalities or autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome by several autism researchers who also speculate that Mozart and other musicians had autism and/or other conditions.
To be frank, my life has been enriched by children and the parents who are part of the 8%.. Rot in hell Margaret Sanger.
Thanks for the post Ken/Kim. A very important, thought provoking post.
I was strongly encouraged to have an abortion by my ob/gyn when he learned that I carried a gene for polycystic kidney disease. There was only a 50/50 chance that I would pass it along to my child.
The doctor looked me in the eye and said: “I can do an abortion for you here, in this office, very easily…..do you really want to add to the population of people who carry that defective gene?”
I hadn’t really even given abortion a thought until his comment. When he said the word “defective” I cried, then I left his office and never went back. He had been my ob/gyn for years prior, and the insight into this dark part of his personality horrified me. I ended up seeing a specialist in high risk pregnancies at MCV – my son is now in college, studying to be a family practitioner.
Ken, I look forward to hearing more about your great adventure with Joshua.
A mom,
I believe the Doctor’s have been beat on enough with the health care. The true demons are the nonprofits that push abortions.
They shove abortion down our throats in hopes of population control.
To blame doctors is to blame the useful idiots sitting at Wall Street.
I know and love people with Downs…. will my children one day not know a single person with Downs Syndrome – not value their lives or delight with them in the simple triumphs of life?
Thank you, Ken & Kim, for setting such an example of loving when it is costly and choosing life when so many do not have the moral compass or the courage to do the right thing for the little one who is depending on them.
You did this when faced with an unspeakable choice:
“Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy.” – Proverbs 31:9
You are still speaking up now by writing this article.
[...] “Down Syndrome screening and the revival of eugenics,” Ken and Kim Falkenstein, Bearing Drift [...]
I was 39 when I had my son, and my OB insisted I see a high-risk specialist, who did an ultrasound, but also wanted to do an amnio…risky and expensive. So if they found something, what could they do? Abortion was the only option! NO! Why risk it? People need to be patient and not demand to know EVERYTHING! Not to say I wasn’t a little worried, because of my age, but I was determined to love it no matter what, and he was healthy and normal (now 11). I thank God he was normal and healthy (still!), but I hope and pray people will love ALL babies. Are WE perfect? (So many strive to have that perfect body, perfect career, perfect everything.) It is sad that we can’t just LOVE and accept more in life. After all, does worrying change anything? Killing changes everything.
I have three children that are unique — one was adopted, one has Down syndrome, and one has curly hair. Notice that I don’t single out the one with “special needs” more than another?
I, too, was offered an array of tests, had a few non-invasive ones, and declined others. I remember asking my OB why I should consider an amnio, and she paused and said something to the effect of, “Well, if you were to terminate, we would need to know soon.” I declined.
My child with Down syndrome has enriched my life and that of my extended (and church) family. Thank you to all who love and support these gifted, unique folks with an extra chromosome.
Thank you Ken and Kim for sharing your message. At savingdowns were are totally comitted to saving our endangered community and celebrating human diversity and dignity. Our website overviews and advocacy in proving justice for this most vulnerable group of wonderful people.
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