In a previous post, I reported on an account that suggests Down syndrome may already be starting to disappear from our society. But, if that is the case, what are we losing if Down syndrome disappears? Continue Reading
May 30, 2013
Is Down syndrome already starting to disappear?
Since the dawn of prenatal testing and selective abortion, critics and commentators have wondered whether Down syndrome will disappear from society. Experience this year suggests that it may now be happening. Continue Reading
May 22, 2013
Wrongful birth and abortion: what’s the damage of disability?
In a very moving article, Kristina Chew wrote of her son, who has autism, and whether she would have aborted him if given the chance through prenatal testing. In South Africa, a couple was awarded 4.4 million Rand (or about $440,000) precisely because they were not told prenatally their child had Down syndrome--they said they would have aborted had they known prenatally. Both stories are revealing in what they consider the damage of disability. Continue Reading
May 16, 2013
Gosnell, after-birth abortion, and Down syndrome
Kermit Gosnell (AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, Yong Kim)Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia physician, was convicted this week for first degree murder. A jury found him guilty of killing babies born alive after botched abortion procedures. There are academics who have cited prenatal testing and selective abortion for Down syndrome to argue that not only are Gosnell's actions not criminal, but morally justifiable. Continue Reading
April 15, 2013
Is the ISPD statement unjustified?
Continuing the series of posts on the new International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis's (ISPD) policy statement on prenatal testing for aneuploidy, I will seek to answer the questions prompted by that statement. In doing so, it leads to the ultimate question of whether the ISPD statement is unjustified? Continue Reading
April 11, 2013
Does the ISPD have its own version of Voldemort?
The International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD) has issued a new position statement on prenatal testing for Down syndrome. I have reported on what the statement says in the past several posts. Now, we turn a critical eye to the statement to provide an ethical assessment of it. What is most glaring is what is not stated in the new statement. I wonder if the ISPD has it's own version of Voldemort. Continue Reading
April 9, 2013
Happy birthday, Baby Doe
Today would have been Baby Doe's birthday. But, when Baby Doe was born in 1982, he was born with Down syndrome and his doctor believed some individuals with Down syndrome were "mere blobs." The doctor's medical advice to Baby Doe's parents was that they should let their child die from lack of care. I wrote about this in 2010. Re-reading the column, I was reminded of then-current examples of these views still being expressed and practiced. Lest we think this attitude towards withholding care to Continue Reading
April 3, 2013
Does the North Dakota law banning Down syndrome-selective abortions impose an undue burden?
I wrote last week about North Dakota's new law prohibiting sex-selective and Down syndrome-selective abortions. What will the law's impact be, and will it be struck down as unconstitutional? Continue Reading
April 2, 2013
Outlawing abortion won’t help children with Down syndrome? History might suggest otherwise.
Earlier this week, the New York Times Motherlode blog featured a post by Alison Piepmeier with the headline: "Outlawing abortion won't help children with Down syndrome?" Much of what she wrote echoed points I have made previously, but there is a distinction based on historical examples. Continue Reading
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