Technology has made it possible for pregnant women 35 and older to know beforehand if their fetuses possess the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome. Recently, this screening procedure has been made available to all pregnant women. According to an article in The New York Times, a shockingly high percentage of women—a mind-blowing 90 percent—who receive a Down syndrome diagnosis opt for an abortion.
But who are we to judge who has the right to live? With Down syndrome comes mental retardation, dependence on others, and shorter life expectancies, but these handicaps and disadvantages do not necessarily outweigh the benefits of life itself. People with Down syndrome are human beings too; they are perfectly capable of possessing emotions, partaking in everyday activities, and expressing their individual personalities.
However, at the mention of the genetic condition, potential parents of a fetus with Down syndrome often shy away from the thought of raising a disabled child. I would be lying if I said that children with Down syndrome do not bring extra burdens and responsibilities, but in reality, since when has it ever been easy to raise a child? Children everywhere, with or without disabilities, require unconditional love as well as endless attention, devotion, and care. Children with Down syndrome are no different.
Relevant site: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/us/09down.html
2 comments:
I imagine people forming two groups of opinions after reading Annie’s post. One group would fervently agree with her, that the purpose of having a child should not be tainted with avoiding responsibilities; even the responsibility can be grave as Down syndrome. Another group would just go “what” because they can’t see the point of continuing pregnancy after the fetus is diagnosed of Down syndrome. After all, what’s the technology developed for? So that moms can be mentally prepared for their disabled babies?
In my opinion, Annie’s article poses an interesting question: do fetuses count as lives? How old do they have to be in order to be treated as human beings? The ancient Sparta military people would throw babies unworthy to nurture off Mt. Taygetos cliff because they would not become valiant warriors. In the eyes of those veterans, the new-born babies carry much less value than young boys because they did not receive any training and carried no skills with them. While this sounds too cruel and inhuman to people today, it was understood in the Spartan culture and seen as reasonable practice.
As society advances, the value of individual life has given more attention and emphasis. And this trend makes possible articles discussing the ethics of killing fetuses diagnosed of Down syndrome. My response is, the answer depends who is answering the question. If a Spartan leader was to vote, he would surely support abortion. If a wealthy, highly-educated family who has been waiting for a baby for years were to choose, they would probably condemn those who had a chance to give birth to a baby but chose not to.
Sorry I forgot to put up one relevant site:
http://ancient-military-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/agoge_spartan_military_training
Post a Comment