Michael E. Baroody Jr., an attorney from Northern Virginia, shares a pair of letters he prepared in reaction to the statement by UNC biology professor Albert Harris that fetuses with Down syndrome should be aborted.

Mr. Baroody wrote the first letter in response to the op-ed in the Charlotte News and Observer by public editor Ted Vaden, and sent the second to Prof. Harris.

Dear Mr. Vaden:

After reading your article in Sunday’s News and
Observer, I felt compelled to share with you the
letter I wrote to Professor Harris. My letter was not
“damning” or “threatening”. I merely wanted to convey
to him how his comments can impact those with Down
syndrome, including my daughter. My letter is
attached and I hope you read it. (Incidentally, I
have not yet received a response from Professor
Harris.)

I was pleased to read your acknowledgement that we
parents of children with Down syndrome are
“understandably upset”; you also stated that you
“sympathize” with families upset by the comments. And
you acknowledged that the Professor’s comments were
“insensitive” and “ill-considered”. Your sentiments
are welcome. I would only add that the Professor’s
comments were deeply offensive and actually are
damaging to those with DS. As Professor Harris is
aware, people with DS can face many challenges. Our
society has a clear choice: we can either help them
face those challenges, or we can add to those
challenges by, for instance, questioning the
legitimacy of their existence.

Sincerely,

Michael E. Baroody Jr.
Centreville, Virginia

__________

Letter to Professor Harris
Dear Professor Harris:

Today I read an article from yesterday’s Chapel Hill
News publicizing your belief that fetuses which appear
to have Down syndrome should be aborted. You stated
that this is actually the “moral” thing to do because
of the effect on families, saying: “I knew somebody
who had a child like this, and it ruined their life.”

I am truly sorry for your friend’s ruined life, but
that single example lends little support for your
opinion, particularly when there are so many families
(including mine and dozens of others I know) with a
child with DS, that are not “ruined”. We and our
children face many challenges, but most of us manage
quite well.

Unfortunately, perhaps unwittingly, you and many
others add to the list of challenges by devaluing
those with DS. My 4-year-old daughter with DS doesn’t
know (yet) that people out there actually believe she
should never have been born, but when (not if) she
reads, she will know, and our whole family will have
to work through that challenge somehow.

Someday, when (not if) my daughter goes to college, I
hope that her professors, even if they hold your views
on DS, have the decency not to tell her that she
should never have been born. I hope more deeply,
however, that all professors and all students who
observe her on campus are sensible enough to conclude
without doubt that absolutely she should have been
born.

Sir, my daughter doesn’t need more challenges, she
needs more allies. I hope that you are allowed to
continue your discussion on this topic in class, but
that this opinion is given fair consideration. I also
hope that you can fully appreciate what I have
expressed.

Sincerely,

Michael E. Baroody Jr.
Centreville, Virginia

Earlier posts here and here.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 7:19 pm and is filed under Down syndrome, abortion, media, prenatal diagnosis, public attitudes. 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.  Email This Post