In his National Bestseller, The Tipping Point: how little things can make a big difference, Malcolm Gladwell identifies three elements to creating an epidemic, from the spread of disease to a social trend. With two of the three being built into prenatal testing for Down syndrome, the final element will determine the tipping point of whether prenatal testing becomes an epidemic. Continue Reading
May 14, 2013
Didn’t you get tested? The normative effect of prenatal testing undermines reproductive freedom.
Medical organizations and bioethicists justify prenatal testing out of a respect for a woman's autonomy, her ability to control her reproductive choices. But society's view of prenatal testing can undermine that freedom. A recent Salon article adds to the evidence for this concern. Continue Reading
February 19, 2013
What do you say when you hear the “R-word”?
Recently, my wife and I went out for a nice evening. That was the intention, at least. Then, at dinner, we overheard from our neighboring table the "r-word." I wonder, what do you say when you hear the "r-word"? Continue Reading
January 17, 2013
A Dream of a Brighter Future
Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It seems fitting to observe on this holiday honoring the great civil rights leader what many have called the next civil rights movement. The new wave of prenatal testing advances has brought into focus what we mean by America's creed that all are created equal. Continue Reading
January 14, 2013
Paradise, interrupted
Bonnie Rochman, a columnist for TIME magazine, has a new post about her trip to paradise being interrupted. It informs how a diagnosis for Down syndrome is delivered and processed by expectant parents. Rochman writes about her son entering a T-shirt shop selling shirts that made fun of individuals with intellectual disabilities. By coincidence, a family with a child with Down syndrome entered the store soon after Rochman saw the T-shirts. She writes: I felt panicky. As a mother, I wanted to Continue Reading
November 25, 2012
“These attributes do not define those we love.”
On the right side of the homepage, you'll see a scroll of my twitter feed. Unlike common uses of twitter, I do not update my followers where I'm eating dinner or what I think of the movie I'm watching. Instead, most all posts are links to news reports about Down syndrome. I invite you to follow the feed to see the news of the day. Some articles, however, are deserving of a larger exposition than the 140-character limit of Twitter. An article from last week is just so deserving. Dominic Continue Reading
Comments due on UK inquiry into abortion for disability
The United Kingdom's Parliament is re-examining the Abortion Act of 1967, specifically Ground E which permits abortion at any time on the basis of disability. Comments are due tomorrow, March 6, 2013, by 12 pm, EST. Read on for the link and how to receive a template for your comment. Continue Reading