On CNN, a video of an interview with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and her husband Brian about their son Cole , who has Down syndrome. Cole was born in April. (Part 2 of the interview is here.)

Interviewer Kiran Chetry: “She and her husband Brian got initial testing and learned that there could be a problem. They decided against any further testing before having their son Cole.”

Cathy McMorris Rodgers: “You have these hopes and dreams for your baby and it doesn’t involve Down syndrome. So when you first receive that news, it’s very difficult to get your arms around it. And it makes all the difference when you actually hold that baby in your arms and you see him for the wonderful person that he is.”

… “it wasn’t that long ago — 40, 50 years ago — that babies with Down syndrome would be put into an institutions. And through the years, not only have we brought them out of institutions, we now have them in schools. And now one of the next steps is to help them become more independent. And I’m really excited about being a part of that.”

McMorris Rogers says her experience with her son has not changed her opposition to embryonic stem cell research.

“My opposition to embryonic stem cell research is based upon my opposition to destroying what could, you know, a human life. There’s a lot of different types of stem cell research, not just embryonic. Some of the really major breakthroughs are coming in the other lines of stem cell research.”

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 17th, 2007 at 7:02 am and is filed under celebrities, Down syndrome, institutionalization, NOT2BEMISSED, parents, politics, public attitudes, research news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.