Sequenom’s Test for Down Syndrome Raises Hopes and Questions – NYTimes.com.
In the “old days” this used to be called “search and destroy.” While undoubtedly there is benefit to knowing if your child will pose special challenges to the family upon birth that is not what is happening with an increasing number of prenatal tests.
In a 2007 article in the New York Times the author made this sad statement: “About 90 percent of pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis have chosen to have an abortion.”
That is “search and destroy.”
The proposition of a new test to provide greater accuracy (imagine 5% of those children aborted because of a false-positive test for Down’s Syndrome) does not negate what is happening. As a society we are increasingly wanting to pick and choose the people who should live based on a criteria that is more presumptive that accurate, more selfish than sacrificial, more dangerous than beneficial. Who is next? Who are the right kind of people to eliminate? Who would be the “useless eaters” of society?
Visit the website of Christian Life Resources to peruse a variety of articles that speak about the value of lives that face challenges – including the lives of children born with Down’s Syndrome.
