Michael Gerson did not mention the moral conflict of ‘pro-life’ Republicans who must also be among the 90% of women who terminate their pregnancies with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

Are pro-life Republicans actually comfortable with that choice?

Michael Gerson wrote
“…Of the cases of Down syndrome diagnosed by prenatal testing each year, about 90 percent are eliminated by abortion…”

Also:
“there was a third civil rights barrier broken at the political conventions this year.

Trig Paxson Van Palin — pronounced by his mother “beautiful” and “perfect” and applauded at center stage of the Republican convention — smashed the chromosomal barrier. And it was all the more moving for the innocence and indifference of this 4-month-old civil rights leader.”

Correction – at lease one young adult with Down syndrome addressed a convention in 2000 or 2004 – check your facts, please.

Pamela Wilson
SE of Seattle

I strongly disagree with this statement. The inclusion of Trig at events with all the other family members demonstrates that the Palin family considers him an equal member of the family and do not hide him. Not only encourages other families to be more open about their family members, but shows to people with disabilities that we value them as equal members of our society. The Palins have only included Trig in family events where all politicians bring their families and never attempted to use him as a prop.

If Palin is elected, I believe that Trig’s inclusion in family events would be the best method to sensitize the public about disabilities and stop be ashamed about it. My husband is a full professor in an ivy league medical school, but both himself and his family regard our child’s disability that is mild, as a state secret that is not supposed to be discussed in public.

I do believe that Palin would be an advocate. Her record in Alaska has already demonstrated that as she increased the special ed budget significantly.

“According to Eddy Jeans at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, funding for special needs and intensive needs students has increased every year since Palin entered office, from a total of $203 million in 2006 to a projected $276 million in 2009.” — From the report by Factcheck.org in Newsweek, Sept. 8, 2008

When his mother speaks out — and follows that speech with real action — on behalf of other children, perhaps Gerson’s hollow words might be given meaning. In the meantime, I see the child being shamelessly used as a prop, and held up as a shield to deflect meritorious criticisms of the Republican war on children.

In practice, the high number of terminated pregnancies means that choice does affect the number of births of people with disabilities. The missing factor is information and cultural awareness. The troubling aspect for me is that the sole determinant for termination is often a disability that doesn’t match the devastating description put forth by too many who have the education to know differently.

Strength in any child is created from adversity and challenge; we accept this as a tenet of solid parenting. The weak moments create skill and strength far greater than natural, untested development. Our society works in a similar manner; if we eliminate the weak, we lose the drive to intensify the strong as well.

And Senator Kennedy has been working in bipartisan way with Senator Brownback of Kansas as cosponsors of the Prenatally Diagnosed Conditions and Awareness Act (SB 1810) to bring more federal support for parent education at the time of a prenatal diagnosis of Downs and other prenatally diagnosed conditions, including the condition we represent — Trisomy 18.

Victoria Miller
Founder and Executive Director
Trisomy 18 Foundation
http://www.trisomy18.org