Please take on this nasty geneticist

[stevedp]

All. I had a falling out on twitter with this blogger. In her latest post, she says:
"To take a purely scientific stance on this, a decline in births of babies with genetic abnormalities doesn't sound much different from a future free of polio, chickenpox, and other conditions."

I think the issue is not about the parents' decision - it's about the fact that this blogger isn't giving our kids a chance.

Article here news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981179400

[Chris]

ARGH! This is an ignorant and arrogant woman. How dare she compare a person with Down syndrome to a disease! It makes me sick to think that 92% of women with a prenatal diagnosis of Ds choose too abort. Honestly, I believe that many of those women abort because of the grim outlook they have been given by their OB or geneticist. We knew Sarah had Ds when I was 18 weeks pregnant (suspected it at 16 weeks). The geneticist gave us three options and the order of those options were: 1. Termination, 2. Adoption, 3. Raise the child. She gave us every horrifying statistic imaginable. What if everyone was given statistics of all the things that could possibly go wrong with their typical child? Grrrr........

[Kaylis]

I also knew Mikah had Ds during the pregnancy, at 18 weeks. I'm so glad I wasn't afraid of Ds, because his father had enough worries for both of us. First my nurse midwife called and told me that the baby had Down syndrome. When I asked whether it was a boy or a girl, she apologized and said she hadn't asked because she couldn't remember if I wanted to know. She told me the geneticist wanted me to come in the next day (a 45 minute drive away) to discuss the results. Well, we both went and the doctor was very matter-of-fact, but did present a bunch of negatives. He was amazed when I said I wasn't going to abort and told me I was the only person to make that choice in a long time. I offered to talk to anyone with questions who found out their baby had Ds, but I've never gotten any calls. Mikah's dad didn't try to influence my choice, but he did express his concerns and fears. He didn't know much about Ds and imagined having to institutionalize the baby. After he was reassured, he ended up being very supportive.

My son (and all of our family members) are DEFINITELY NOT diseases! They are loving, loved PEOPLE. I wish we could get this point across to everyone!

[cmullay]

Hi,
Im at year 12 student attending Chatham High School in Taree and we have a support unit at our school for children with special needs. I am currently doing my HSC course. Im about to do a presentation on down syndrome children. I am hoping to get some information to help out with I disagreeignment. If anyone is willing to help me, could you please contact me. I am hoping to find the positives of having a child with Down Syndrome.
Thankyou for your time and please feel free to help me out, it is much appreciated.
Caitlin x

[wrblack]

Hi, Caitlin,
Not much traffic on this board these days. Facebook has taken over the world.
You might find the info pulled together by Dr. Len Leshin helpful. Here's a link
www.ds-health.com/downsyndrome.htm
Luck,
Bob