For Dr. Lise Poirier-Groulx, becoming the mother of a son with Down syndrome changed the way she looks at the world

Another in a package of stories by the Ottawa Citizen about the effects of Canada’s national guidelines recommending that all pregnant women be offered prenatal screening for Down syndrome.

Physician Lise Poirier-Groulx describes the medical care she received after her now-8-year-old son was diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome. She and her husband had already decided not to terminate the pregnancy if the baby was diagnosed with a disability. An excerpt:

… Christian came into the world without the medical profession’s seal of approval. His parents faced pressure and silent disapproval from doctors when they stated their choice, again and again, to have the baby.

… “When I was going through that, it was assumed that you were going to terminate. Everywhere I went it was assumed,” she said.

“I got mostly cold stares and silences — Is this doctor for real? What is she doing? — that kind of attitude. We had to constantly state it: No, we don’t want to terminate. There was none of this talk — the pros and cons, positives and negatives of having a handicapped child. We never got that. It was just negative, when do you want to do it (the termination) type of thing.

“Although the system says they respect your decision and all that, it is not the experience of most women.

“When I was going through it eight years ago, there was practically nothing. It was like a void as far as positive testimonies of parents. We got one pamphlet about parents who had chosen not to terminate.”

Dr. Poirier-Groulx says she worries about the negative social attitudes and that her child will face.

“I hope Christian never gets to understand, that somehow it would come to him in a very direct way, that his life is not worth living or people look at him and think that he is a lesser human being. That really worries me.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 at 11:45 am and is filed under Down syndrome, NOT2BEMISSED, abortion, intellectual/developmental disabilities, medicine, prenatal diagnosis, public attitudes, stereotypes, stigma. 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