Comments on: New ACOG guidelines: Invasive prenatal testing should be offered to all pregnant women http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/15/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/ Disability News | PatriciaEBauer.com Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:44:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: vicki http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/15/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-518 vicki Tue, 01 Jan 2008 16:23:09 +0000 http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/14/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-518 You know this is not Nazi Germany, and Hitler is dead. All people should not be perfect. They should be born the way God intended us to be. You know what costs us more money than kids with Down Syndrome? Meth-crack addicts on public aid or the foreigners who come into this country and go on public aid. What about the homeless who use our emergency rooms for a place to sleep and get detoxed from drinking binges? Hospitals have to write off those charges and our insurance rates keep going up. Or the Iraq war ... this country needs to focus on the real problems!! That is what costs more than a child born with Down Syndrome!! You know this is not Nazi Germany, and Hitler is dead. All people should not be perfect. They should be born the way God intended us to be. You know what costs us more money than kids with Down Syndrome? Meth-crack addicts on public aid or the foreigners who come into this country and go on public aid. What about the homeless who use our emergency rooms for a place to sleep and get detoxed from drinking binges? Hospitals have to write off those charges and our insurance rates keep going up. Or the Iraq war … this country needs to focus on the real problems!! That is what costs more than a child born with Down Syndrome!!

]]> By: Qadoshyah http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/15/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-517 Qadoshyah Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:48:39 +0000 http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/14/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-517 Man, this is crazy! The ACOG seems to have some agenda to eliminate the group of individuals with DS. This is so sick and sad! My brother who's almost 3 years old has DS and he's such a blessing. I couldn't image life without him! Educating the uninformed is something that is more than needed as always, but especially in our day and age that is so pro-abortion! Qadoshyah Man, this is crazy! The ACOG seems to have some agenda to eliminate the group of individuals with DS. This is so sick and sad! My brother who’s almost 3 years old has DS and he’s such a blessing. I couldn’t image life without him!

Educating the uninformed is something that is more than needed as always, but especially in our day and age that is so pro-abortion!

Qadoshyah

]]> By: Kathryn Soper http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/15/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-511 Kathryn Soper Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:51:59 +0000 http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/14/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-511 Knowledge is power, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing -- for doctors and for parents. This new protocol, without education to augment it, is dangerous indeed. Knowledge is power, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing — for doctors and for parents. This new protocol, without education to augment it, is dangerous indeed.

]]> By: luetzowa http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/15/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-502 luetzowa Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:20:20 +0000 http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/14/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-502 Disability is not something that needs to be prevented. All humans deserve life, despite differences or "abnormalities." The question of "where to draw the line between preventing disability and accepting human diversity" should be extremely evident. Offering out-of-date information and biased labels on amniocentesis does not constitute a valiant effort for acceptance of diversity. It is time to educate the uninformed, to embrace change, and to create an accepting environment for ALL of the world's people. The sheer act of screening for "chromosomal abnormalities" carriers a negative connotation, automatically influencing the mother's potential view of her child with such a condition. The attitude of the medical industry needs to change; why not welcome every human life with open arms? Disability is not something that needs to be prevented. All humans deserve life, despite differences or “abnormalities.” The question of “where to draw the line between preventing disability and accepting human diversity” should be extremely evident. Offering out-of-date information and biased labels on amniocentesis does not constitute a valiant effort for acceptance of diversity.

It is time to educate the uninformed, to embrace change, and to create an accepting environment for ALL of the world’s people. The sheer act of screening for “chromosomal abnormalities” carriers a negative connotation, automatically influencing the mother’s potential view of her child with such a condition. The attitude of the medical industry needs to change; why not welcome every human life with open arms?

]]> By: Nathanael Bonnell http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/15/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-497 Nathanael Bonnell Tue, 18 Dec 2007 08:16:02 +0000 http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/14/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-497 It's much easier to decide that a person with Down Syndrome shouldn't be allowed to live before that person has really had a chance to live. Not too many people would say that an adult with Down's should be killed for being defective or a burden. This relates to Peter Singer's controversial idea that a person doesn't become a person until they can form coherent thoughts and show an identity. And, apparently, it's all right to kill non-persons. I can't abide by this idea, because I can make a simple analogy to autism. Autistic people may show little sign of a personality, and may not be able to express thoughts to others. But, when some of them find a means to express themselves through Facilitated Communication, we find out that they have just as much a personality as any "normal" person. So is it right to kill autistic people, unless they show some sign of communication? It can't be. Instead we should help them. By extension, I don't think we can morally abort fetuses with potential disabilities; we should help them. It’s much easier to decide that a person with Down Syndrome shouldn’t be allowed to live before that person has really had a chance to live. Not too many people would say that an adult with Down’s should be killed for being defective or a burden. This relates to Peter Singer’s controversial idea that a person doesn’t become a person until they can form coherent thoughts and show an identity. And, apparently, it’s all right to kill non-persons.

I can’t abide by this idea, because I can make a simple analogy to autism. Autistic people may show little sign of a personality, and may not be able to express thoughts to others. But, when some of them find a means to express themselves through Facilitated Communication, we find out that they have just as much a personality as any “normal” person. So is it right to kill autistic people, unless they show some sign of communication? It can’t be. Instead we should help them. By extension, I don’t think we can morally abort fetuses with potential disabilities; we should help them.

]]> By: jennifergg http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/15/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-494 jennifergg Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:36:21 +0000 http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2007/12/14/new-acog-guidelines-invasive-prenatal-testing-should-be-offered-to-all-pregnant-women/#comment-494 Oh, ugh. I will do a post about it, too. As with last year's ACOG changes, and perhaps even more, I'm wishing for adequate education and support for all pregnant women. As a rule, I'm a believer in the power of information. But this one is tricky for me, because of all of the subtexts. And until we can ensure that each family is aware of all the implications, and all the consequences, the new ACOG guidelines feel like a step backward to me. <blockquote>Editor's note: View Jennifer's blog at: http://jennifergrafgroneberg.wordpress.com/ Her upcoming book is <em>Road Map to Holland: How I Found My Way through My Son's First Two Years with Down Syndrome</em> -- due out in the spring. </blockquote> Oh, ugh. I will do a post about it, too.

As with last year’s ACOG changes, and perhaps even more, I’m wishing for adequate education and support for all pregnant women.

As a rule, I’m a believer in the power of information. But this one is tricky for me, because of all of the subtexts. And until we can ensure that each family is aware of all the implications, and all the consequences, the new ACOG guidelines feel like a step backward to me.

Editor’s note: View Jennifer’s blog at: http://jennifergrafgroneberg.wordpress.com/

Her upcoming book is Road Map to Holland: How I Found My Way through My Son’s First Two Years with Down Syndrome — due out in the spring.

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