Would YOU abort your "down syndrome" baby?

[bluenoser]

Why stop at Down Syndrome? There are plenty of other hereditary conditions in the world that require constant treatment that deserve consideration. Obesity/Diabetes. Sickle-cell anemia. ADD/ADHD. Autism. That's four significant drains on the system that are robbing all the other "normal kids" of their God-given upbringing. One could argue that a combined IQ below 200 may be reason enough to believe the child will be below average, and as such a drain on the system too. Where are you all willing to draw the line?

Guess me, doc, and yella are alone on this.

Count me in your camp. My child is mine (and my wife's) to love.

The lack of mental acuity of a Downs Child puts them a LOT further down the Bell curve... to the point that a significant amount of them are not able to work and support themselves.

And yet, somehow, still higher on the bell curve than most BARFers.

 

[Obscura]

Also, Gingers have no souls. Like those slant eye Nips. . . fuckin' yellow monkeys.

:|

 

[sliverstorm]

I don't know. On the one hand, I can see Down's syndrome making the child a real burden to everyone else. On the other hand, I've heard that they are almost uniformly happy & nice people. We don't have to all be geniuses, and we could use more happy people in this world

With things like Tay Sachs it's a lot harder to say 'keep it', but Down's syndrome is not so bad as far as serious genetic disorders go.

Well, Ginger's are something else entirely. Remember, they have no souls so killing them before or after birth really has no moral consequences.

I used to think the ginger thing was just a joke, but it has taken on such a bitter, cutting edge I'm not so sure any more. :|

 

[Storm Shadow]

will not, he will grow up to be masterblaster!!!!

 

[Gnarly Cranium]

Why stop at Down Syndrome? There are plenty of other hereditary conditions in the world that require constant treatment that deserve consideration. Obesity/Diabetes. Sickle-cell anemia. ADD/ADHD. Autism. That's four significant drains on the system that are robbing all the other "normal kids" of their God-given upbringing. One could argue that a combined IQ below 200 may be reason enough to believe the child will be below average, and as such a drain on the system too. Where are you all willing to draw the line?

Actually, high IQs stack up into higher and higher rates of autism and other mental wackiness too.

The movie Gattaca is a pretty cool one, for speculating on how we might end up if we were able to actively edit the DNA of our kids for specific ubermenschness.

 

[T-1 Thunder]

P.S.

Where's the "abort the baby, get snipped, and never, ever, ever try again" option?

Must everyone here be assumed to be breeders?

Good point. Feel free to not participate in the discussion.

When the topic first came between my wife and I, she was under the impression that most people keep a down syndrome baby, despite knowing ahead of time such fact while pregnant.

When I did a search and saw a number of 92% - it blew her away. Me, too. I expected it to be around 60-70% myself. So it led to doing our own little survey to see what a poll among the folks of BARF would reflect.

I never considered the people that don't want kids at all, so rather than taint the results, I ask that those folks do not vote in the poll. Thanks.

 

[T-1 Thunder]

Furthermore, I highly doubt it's a selfish thing where people want attention for "being a nice person". The novelty wears off and you're left with a life long commitment.

People that just want attention to showcase how nice they are can go out and volunteer at an animal shelter or something...until the tire. Then they can quit.

There is no "quitting" with this. That said, in my book, the people that willingly have these kids and love them and care for them for life are saints among us.

 

[jacksprat]

Anyone ever see the documentary The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off?

[youtube]Dmahlc6n9_A[/youtube]

One of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen.

Parents should have just killed him. Allowing him to suffer like that is unbelievable.

 

[Baum19]

Are we also assuming the test used wasn't producing a false-positive result?

 

[Obscura]

I saw that documentary when it first came out, even given his affliction he had an awesome outlook on life. I'm sure he wished for a better life, but he took what he had and made it his.

For shits sake, he continually made jokes about jerking off, staring at tittehs, he put a fucking Heinz ketchup brand on his coffin and generally swore like a sailor with a smile on his face.

 

[sliverstorm]

Anyone ever see the documentary The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off?

One of the most heartbreaking things I've ever seen.

Parents should have just killed him. Allowing him to suffer like that is unbelievable.

Oh, yeah NOT killing someone and taking their life into your hands is SO cruel

From the looks of it it's not exactly like he was in constant misery every day of his life. Hell, he had it better than poor Hawking. He sounds like a sharp kid, I think I'm happy leaving it up to him to decide what he wants to do with his life

 

[jacksprat]

Hell, he had it better than poor Hawking. He sounds like a sharp kid,

Better than Hawking. How so? Try watching the whole thing, then commenting. I'll take Hawking over having all the skin ripped off my back weekly.

If you consider 36 a kid.

 

[sliverstorm]

Better than Hawking. How so? Try watching the whole thing, then commenting.

If you consider 36 a kid.

I mean, he's not rich & famous, but while he may not be able to play basketball or whatever he could still do things. Hawking can't even move (mostly). If moving and doing things hurt, that wouldn't stop me from moving and doing things. Now, if I was paralyzed AND in constant miserable unending pain, that's probably something I'd want out of. But just cause life serves you a glass that's half full, doesn't mean you can't make something of it.

I watched the first segment you linked to, don't have time to watch the full thing right now.

 

[T-1 Thunder]

I would not want to sentence my child to a lifetime of misery. It would be a sad choice to have to make for sure.

It's not a sentence of misery for the child. They feel plenty of joy.
Is the purpose of life to calculate the area of a circle, or to just smile and enjoy life?

I have a friend in TX and he has a boy with DS.
That guy is so much fun, and it seems like everything he sees is through the eyes of a child. Along with that comes the excitement and happiness of a child. My buddy and his wife(bless their souls) can afford to raise him and care for him for life. I bought the guy a fish tank and a fish. He loved it and wrote me a letter about it. (ended up overfeeding the fish and it died)

While I try not to judge people negatively for making the choice to terminate(it's understandable), I find it easy to look up to and admire the people that take on such a life long commitment.

 

[iamrob]

i am a male, and can't get pregnant.

 

[954Rider]

Fuck Yea!!

 

[sandyxb]

Yes, and I wouldn't think another second about it, or feel guilt or bad.

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

I'd like to point out to some of the people posting in here that no one is suggesting taking a child who's been born out into the woods and leaving it for the wolves...
If you bring a child into this world, it is your responsibility to raise it well, and be sure that if it's a special needs child, that you provide for it after you're gone.
Yes, most DS kids go through life happy... and I'm sure many families don't regret that child's life... but I wonder how many of them would have terminated the pregnancy if they had known in the first trimester.

 

[Jakemate]

Sometimes, you just need to throw out the souffle and try again.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Fuck me, it must be tough being such a mental giant. Undoubtedly you have already revolutionized our lives with your immense intellect and we don't even know it. Sadly you're an anonymous voice on the internet, forever spouting off about what a genius you are and how most of the people around you are retards.

Thank you for gracing us with your presence, oh powerful super brain.

You're fucking welcome. You're damn lucky you have me around. I swear, if I don't get to be some kind of billionaire philanthropist some day, I'm going to stop picking up after people like you.

Yes, most DS kids go through life happy... and I'm sure many families don't regret that child's life... but I wonder how many of them would have terminated the pregnancy if they had known in the first trimester.

AHA!!!

So would you agree it's not about whether the pregnancy should be terminated because a quality of life issue, but that it's about (as Andy said) the collision of hopes with reality? I'll be the first to say, finding out that your kid will probably have to be in diapers until 8, and have to have their shoes tied for them until 17 is probably a serious cramp in a parent's style. :|

For the record, this is probably why I'll never "breed" myself. There's too many kids out there who need a good home, and if I ever want one, I'll probably go out and find one.