Thursday, December 6, 2007
My mom is a para-professional, and she has worked with special needs children for as long as I can remember. When she got pregnant at 40, she was given an amniocentesis, the test which, among other things, looks for Down Syndrome in the baby. I was 12, and I remember asking what she would do if she found out the baby had Down Syndrome. She said, “I’d love it, the same way I love you and your brother.” My mom wasn’t concerned with the deficiencies her child might have; she just felt lucky to be able to have a baby so late in life.
Unfortunately, not all potential mothers feel the same way. In fact, according to the Lawrence Journal World, doctors estimate that as much as 80-to-90 percent of women terminate their pregnancies upon learning that their future child will have mental or physical disabilities, such as Down Syndrome.
This has prompted Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback and Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy to collaborate on the “Down Syndrome Bill,” which, if passed, would obligate doctors to give patients more information when mothers learn their baby will be born with special needs.
The bill, while a step in the right direction, is not a quick fix for this problem. Deciding to terminate your pregnancy is a serious decision, and if women are convinced to do it with little information, then more information will only impact a few women.
I felt heartbroken when I saw the sky-high percentage of women that terminate pregnancies that will result in babies with Down Syndrome. I have met so many happy and thriving children and adults with Down Syndrome, and I wish those other mothers had given their babies a chance.
I’m sure some of the mothers felt they were being noble, denying themselves a child for the good of the baby. No life is better than a life with physical and mental hardship, right? Well, off-hand, I can think of very few people who, even on their worst day, would honestly rather choose death over living their life.
My goal is not to turn this into a pro-life versus pro-choice discussion. Whether I am pro-choice or pro-life, I do not interfere with another person’s right to do what they want with their body or their fetus. My problem lies with those who choose to terminate a pregnancy on the basis of a mental illness. I understand that a mother will initially be disappointed.
Everyone wants their children to have the best chance at life, and learning that their child has Down Syndrome means that child will probably never be the doctor or lawyer they always wanted. However, the child will still be theirs. Down Syndrome is not an immediate prescription for an unhappy life. They will still giggle when you tickle them and smile when they see you. Most importantly, Down Syndrome does not mean a reliant life. Depending on the level of severity, they may even graduate from high school and go on to live relatively independent lives.
I hope the Down Syndrome Bill passes and is able to change mothers’ minds about having a child with Down Syndrome, even if only a few. I hope that women can be brave enough to give their special needs child a chance at life. Most of all, I hope that they realize a baby with Down Syndrome is still a baby, and one that deserves a fair chance at life.
Gentry is a Kansas City junior in English and pre-medicine.
Choice of a Lifetime
Free: Pregnancy issues the problem, not abortion
Where people stand on the contentious issue is not as important as ...
Letter: Where does Jesus say it’s OK ...
Abortion unalienable right
Letter: Look to community instead of abortion
Athletes with children
These KU athletes must find time to excel in both sports and ...
Unexpectedly Expecting: Taé's story
Taé, broken-hearted and pregnant at 16, faces pressure from her family and ...
Letter to the editor: the scary truth
Anti-abortion displays showed the gruesome realities of abortion.
Letter: Plan B ends embryo's life
Letter to the Editor: Abortion a necessary ...
One mistake, her fault or not, should not condemn a woman for ...
Cell phones could be solution for child ...
A team of University scientists have received a $1.6 million grant to ...
Students take drama class with children
Theatre course offers students and kids opportunities to teach each other
Unexpectedly Expecting: Katie's story
Katie gets pregnant twice within just a year of each other by ...
Letter: Freedom vs. Fear-mongering
A response to a Jan. 29 letter about FOCA.
Unexpectedly Expecting: Erin's story
After being raped, Erin hides her pregnancy from those she loves, ultimately ...
KU program at the forefront of autism ...
The Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training program continues to meet ...
Malicious Intimacy
Four students' experiences with domestic violence.
Dying for change
An autoimmune disease is killing Jon Lane. Two months ago, Jon, a ...
Play addresses both sides of an issue
Tonight the University Theatre will perform "Keely and Du," a play that ...
Sibling support
Siblings might seem like a pain sometimes, but they can be the ...
Letter to the Editor: Abortion philosophy
Mothers are considered on both side of the abortion debate. Maybe we ...
What it's like:to find out you're pregnant ...
We know you're curious
Unexpectedly expecting
How four women faced unplanned pregnancies.
Letter to the Editor: It isn’t condemnation
Student mother writes a letter in response to a letter written about ...
Free for All: February 1
The As and Bs of raising children ...
Two stories of students who balance a family, work and school
The unsettled life of Sarah Bregman
How one student's tumultuous past gave her a chance for a better ...
Miyakawa: College teaches lessons in mixing career ...
For women, it can be difficult to balance work and family life.
Mommas on the Hill
For moms on campus, Mother’s Day comes more than once a year.
Effect of medication on some causes concern
Anti-anxiety drugs may contribute to problems for some students.
Ryan: Yale artist raises serious, basic questions ...
The issue of truth, however, is not important to the meaning of ...
Striving for parental acceptance
Gay and lesbian students at the University of Kansas have revealed their ...
Widower librarian shares wife's KU legacy
Protestor still stands for beliefs
After being expelled from the University of Kansas, Caroljean Brune now works ...
Bledowski: Safety cannot be neglected during sex
Safe sex must remain, as always, a priority.
Lawson: Choice does not mean anti-life or ...
Local barber wins businessman award
A love of haircutting throughout life and key events shaped barbershop owner’s ...
Blackmon: Consequences of drug trafficking shared by ...
Website selling children represents just how far we still have to go ...
Letter: What we all agree with about ...
Building better lives in Bolivia
KU chapter of Engineers Without Borders returns to South America to check ...
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID