The Internet is Blowing Up

 

I came across a story on the Internet about this YouTuber that I can't get out of my mind . . .

He and his wife were expecting their first child and were so excited about it, until they got the news that the baby would likely have Down Syndrome.

After heart-wrenching deliberation, they decided to abort the baby. 

Not surprising, the Internet is blowing up. 

Unfortunately, the couple have received a lot of threats and have seen "a side of humanity that is deeply disturbing."

Any decent human being would feel compassion for this couple and would refrain from adding to their pain, since the deed is done. Perhaps we are not doing a good enough job getting the word out that responding with hate never helps any situation.

But the truth is, whether it is this couple, or any of the million other people that abort their baby, the act of abortion is a "side of humanity that is deeply disturbing."

To take a baby's life is never okay, no matter the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, the potential condition of the child, or personal fear. Fear of the unknown can cause people to make all sorts of bad decisions.

I feel deep sorrow for the life that was never given a chance to grow.

I also feel deep sorrow for what this young couple will miss out on by not raising this child. It is perfectly relevant to remember that "God doesn't call the equipped, but he equips the called." 

That is not a cliche. 

This is from the New York Times ("They Had an Abortion After a Down Syndrome Test, Then Told Millions," Pooja Salhotra):

"In his post, Mr. Ridgway [the YouTuber] wrote that 50 percent of babies with Down syndrome have heart defects, 75 percent have hearing challenges and more than 50 percent have vision problems. 'Down syndrome isn’t a ‘blessing,’ he wrote.

Advocates for people with disabilities said that those statistics painted a dire and incomplete picture.

They give the impression 'that having Down syndrome makes your life not worth living,' said Stephanie Smith Lee, the co-director of policy and advocacy for the National Down Syndrome Congress, an advocacy organization. 'That is just absolutely wrong and it’s hurtful.'"

It has been quoted that a high percentage (60-90%) of pregnancies end in abortion when a Down Syndrome diagnosis is presented. This needs to change.

Clearly we are not doing a good enough job getting the word out that raising a child with a disability is, indeed, a blessing, albeit an unexpected one.

Perhaps the message is not getting out that every life is created by God and that we must trust in his goodness.

Having a disability should not be a death sentence. 

Perhaps that message is just being ignored.

Please, we need to stop culling disabled children through abortion because they don't meet our preconceived ideas or our parenting plans. 

Let us rise to whatever challenge we are given in life and put the needs of others before ourselves. 

Isn't that what Jesus did when he gave up his life for ours? 

Pray for peace, joy, and an end to war (and abortion).

Janet Cassidy
Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com

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