...in the media. google alerts lighting up like a Christmas tree. glad for new low-risk prenatal test, sad for how it's being presented. diminishing the value of "different" lives, singling out those with the extra 21st as the ones to kill. should be marketed more as allowing women to have advanced notice, be able to prepare, make decisions, gather information, rather than solely how not to kill healthy babies. does this mean it's okay to kill the others?
New Down Syndrome Test Could Cut Healthy Baby Deaths
a headline? a death sentence, if you ask me. couldn't read the article. too mad, although Dr. Skotko was quoted. still couldn't get past the title...
not judging people's decisions...just judging the people who don't provide the correct information for people to make informed decisions. the doctors... the media...
got a new girlie doc last week. she's awesome. supportive. feels the same as me. this is important. need to know I'm backed up, that people like my daughter are protected.
but the media slant is still out there, still making people feel justified in their "decisions," pushing them into a choice they are not fully capable of making.
so disappointed.
7 comments:
all in the presentation of information...of results...I am disappointed how it is presented that if the baby is not "perfect" then just rid yourself of the "burden"...not a fan of killing my child...not a fan of how the info was presented to us and put Maddie in the study to detect the extra chromosome at 8 weeks pregnant...if I knew it would be used for this...I would have declined...my girlie dr is also a advocate for correct information...she and I have already talked about Maddie and her future with her...great post..smiles
Can I click a "like" button for this post? Well written, and obviously I agree.
Sad.Just truly sad.Not the first time I have seen this and unfortunately,and so very heartbreaking, not the last.
Every day I go to pick Zoey up from school and watch as this Little Tykes train arrives at the gate.What greets me,are 4 amazing,smiling faces,bursting with giggles and waves,for waiting mommies and daddies.Each darling sporting an extra chromosome.With the exception of another typical child,this is Zoey's entire class.Almost everyday,and I am not exaggerating, I wonder about the future of our children blessed with a little something extra and wonder,in the near future,will there even be a need for this class?Will I ever again see 4 children,comprising the makeup of an entire class,all with Down syndrome.I am already worried... in our area,small community,tight knit,Zoey,at the age of almost 4,is the last born with Down syndrome.Scares the crap out of me,don't mind saying.
Sidenote:Upon entering Zoey's class the other day,one of her buddies,was sitting with the teacher,with a board with approximately half the alphabet on it.Time after time,the teacher asked for a letter and time after time,he correctly handed her the letter.He is 4 and 1/2.Blew me away.I know plenty of typicals that age,that so cannot do what I watched him do.Why is that not good enough for people?Why?
I've been thinking a lot about this too, thinking of posting something but not sue of the wording. I like what you've said about it.
What further kills me, is the idea that Not Having Down Syndrome is "Healthy". A) There are babies with Down Syndrome who are healthy- luckily, mine is one of them, B) Just because a baby doesn't have Down Syndrome, does not mean they will be "Healthy"...I recently had a pregnant girlfriend take a CVS test and when they got their results, proclaimed on FaceBook that they are having a Healthy baby. Healthy? Or just without a chromosomal issue??
I try really hard to understand why someone would feel it's best to "terminate" a baby with DS, but I also believe that a huge majority of those decisions are made in haste and ignorance...I can only imagine how an earlier detection test can impact the already shockingly high 92% of women who terminate based on a Down syndrome diagnosis..."Disappointed" might be putting it mildly.
I'm disappointed too. Not necessarily in the test, but how it's presented, like you said. This should be a way for parents to prepare for their child, not to contemplate termination. We declined an amnio because it was invasive, but a non invasive test would have been nice. Nothing would have changed for us, but we wouldn't have had the 'does she or doesn't she' question hanging over our head.
But until the medical community, and society's, view on Ds changes, this test will just mean more termination.
totally agree with you on this; especially the headline. How awful. I was a little late in blogging about it, but finally managed to get to it today. So frustrating.
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