From the Washington Times:

An informal support network is organizing to assist prospective parents who have received prenatal diagnoses of disabilities. The dilemma of these parents was not widely discussed until last fall, when GOP vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin talked about refusing to abort her son Trig, who has Down syndrome.

Parents now say they feel pressure from doctors and others to terminate their pregnancies. The Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act, signed last year by President Bush, was designed to provide women with accurate information about their child’s condition. But doctors are dubious about whether the measure has had much of an impact on the way medicine is practiced.

“The medical community has not been aware of alternatives,” says Dr. Byron Calhoun, vice president of the obstetrics and gynecology department at West Virginia University in Charleston. “The only alternative parents are given is termination of pregnancy or they’re told they are on their own.”

… “People think your life is over when you have a handicapped child,” [said Dan] LaHood. “It’s a cultural view to eliminate them as undesirable. They don’t know what the demands are and what the rewards are.”

See also:

• Strength for the journey; A family’s experience with the birth of a daughter with Trisomy 18 — Macon Telegraph
• Isabella will always be treasured little sister; Girl with Trisomy 18 lives for eight days — Fredericksburg [VA] Free Lance-Star

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 12:15 pm and is filed under abortion, advocacy, behavior, brain injury, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, genetics, law, NOT2BEMISSED, parents, prenatal diagnosis. 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.