A young man with Down’s was on the ferry from the Toronto Island airport this past weekend. He was excited to get off first and had positioned himself accordingly. But then he let me go before him with a smile, in a kind of chivalric gesture. It was one of those nice, if small, moments in a busy city.
I already get choked up when I see people with Down Syndrome, knowing as I do that we don’t see as many of them as we should.
Not going to get any better now.
by 
I think the only merit to these tests is to prepare the mother or parents for the journey ahead of them. There is no merit in using them to selectively kill children, because there’s something “wrong” with them. There is so much joy a child with Down’s Syndrome can bring into life for themselves and others. Every life counts, every single one!
I find the last few lines very scary,
“Perhaps insurance firms will pressure parents not to bring handicapped children into the world.
Public support for social and medical services could weaken.
Maybe there’d be less pressure to find cures.”
Pressure doesn’t lend itself to being pro-choice. If you have to choose between financial burden and lack of support, or having your baby, is it really a “free choice”?
But then again, isn’t this the same scenario for so many abortions out there where Down Syndrome isn’t even a factor?