Over the Rainbow

We had an internet outage this week and I just didn't have the fortitude to blog from my phone.  Now, the internet is back up but the cable is out.  Charter cable, in case you were wondering.  Consider it my gift to you.

But I'd like to come back with a bang so today I'll tackle abortion.  And why not.  Who's scared?  Not me.

The termination rate in the United States for pregnancies in which the fetus has Down syndrome is estimated to be anywhere between 70 and 90 percent.  An astounding number, really.  I was completely shocked when I first learned it.  I mean, we are the generation that grew up watching kids with Down syndrome on Sesame Street.  We had people with disabilities integrated into our schools.  There's so much more available today, so much more acceptance, so many opportunities.

And yet, only two out of every ten of us choose to keep our baby to term.

Now, if you know anything about me, you know that I am rabidly, adamantly, militantly pro-choice.  I would rather have my right to vote taken from me than my right to determine what happens to my body.  It is the most fundamental right there is.  Without personal domain over one's one body, there can be no other liberties.  

I'll add to that that I make no judgments on women who exercise that right.  It is not for me to judge.  In fact, my religion expressly forbids it.  

But I do judge a society that puts so little value on people like my son that the majority believe him unworthy of life.  I judge a medical community that believes the cure to Down syndrome is elimination by termination.  I judge a system that deems the disabled liabilities instead of beautiful enhancements worthy of assistance and patience. 

The heartbreaking part of these terminations is that these aren't unwanted pregnancies, these are very much wanted pregnancies with unwanted diagnoses.  

Many women are handed the news along with misleading information and outright lies about Down syndrome.  The burden on the family.  The lifelong health problems.  The learning disability.  I've heard of women who were told by their doctors that most children with Down syndrome spend their lives in institutions.  That may be true somewhere in the world, but that's not true for us here in the US.  Some women are told that most people with Down syndrome never learn to talk or use the toilet.  They are given the bleakest, most terrifying scenarios and then pressured to make a decision before it's too late.

The happiness that these families are robbed of is the most troubling.  The heartache that follows the loss of their child is wholly unnecessary.  

Education is key.  Educating the medical community who educate parents.  Educating people who have never come into contact with Down syndrome.  That's part of why I'm doing this 31 for 21.  I want people to see that there is so much joy, so much normalcy in having a child with Down syndrome.

There are no guarantees in parenthood.  Any of us could be diapering our 40 year old child.  A healthy, typical child can become disabled in the blink of an eye.  A disabled child can bring more pride and love to a family than anyone could imagine.

Termination isn't the cure to Down syndrome.  I had a friend once liken it to ridding the world of rainbows.  Why would we want to do that?

Rainbows are the best part of the rain.