This story from the UK highlights how a woman felt after she aborted her first pregnancy, because of a diagnosis of Trisomy 13. She regrets her actions, and I’m sorry about that, and I do feel for her. But of equal interest to me is the societal implications–where I believe she is correct:
But the real issue is that ordinary society has changed in its attitude towards disability. After all, antenatal testing (and its consequences) is now so commonplace and standardised that when it was revealed last month that a new blood test has been developed to detect Down’s syndrome – the most common form of trisomy- the news was greeted with seemingly universal delight.
I often am forced to convince on this point: Why would a private decision–abortion–affect anyone else?
It does–it changes the community we live in, visually, because we see fewer different people. It changes our attitudes all told toward pregnancy, too, not just disability. (But that fundamental change has already occurred.)
by 
The most disturbing change is perhaps that a pregnant women is often treated without empathy. A ‘you chose it, you live with it’ attitude is more and more prevalent. This is especially regarding bringing to birth a disabled child. “Why DIDN’T you abort” is asked . “Don’t expect help, you chose your road.”
I understand that in a secular humanist society, the centre is the individual, and distractions and outside obligations are unwelcome. I don’t understand how we have come to the point where the only value of a person has to be measureable in monetary advantage. Its disgusting.
And yet these same people feel that they are being generous and full of charity for their neighbour when the voluntarily pay taxes to fund abortions. It is nothing short of self-serving. (‘The fewer ‘others’ the more ME.)
The image of the liberal bleeding heart is false. It bleeds only for itself.
My kids’ grade school has a classroom of developmentally challenged children, most of whom are in wheelchairs and verbally uncommunicative. The grade four to six students have the opportunity to spend the recesses with these children, happily talking with them, playing ball, wheeling them around the school and schoolyard. The students don’t see these kids as much different from themselves, and they learn the value of every human being. It is quite beautiful to see. We need more of that in our world. If these developmentally challenged children are eliminated from our world, how much true compassion is there going to be?
Andrea,
Thank you for this post. I agree totally. I was drawn to this article because I’m working on my next posting for my blog. It’s about the life of Jean Vanier, the founder of l’Arche, an international community for the intellectually disabled. It is indeed sad that over 80% of Down Syndrome children are aborted in Canada and the U.S.
Warren