Why Are We Killing Children With Down Syndrome?

By Stefano Gennarini, J.D. | July 2, 2014

A new paper from Mark Bradford, president of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation USA, one of the world’s leading organizations that help children with down syndrome and their families, details how children with Down syndrome are being exterminated, and what policies could help end this inhumane form of violence and discrimination. You can read the paper published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute here.

In the United States, approximately 6,000 individuals are born each year with Down syndrome (trisomy 21). The live birth incidence is about one in 700.[i] Down syndrome is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability, with the U.S. population estimated to be between 250,000 and 400,000 people, and the worldwide population at six million.

Down syndrome is a highly complex genetic medical condition; it is also a highly complex sociological phenomenon that is iconic in its significance to questions regarding quality of life, selective abortion, and the extent and legitimacy of research into medical treatment to enhance cognition in the intellectually disabled. Iconic, because Down syndrome provides the initial test of how society responds to difference and disability when offered increasingly sophisticated means of prenatal screening technologies in a pro-abortion culture.

The most recent study of abortion following a confirmed prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome showed that, depending on several factors such as time of prenatal diagnosis, geographical region, ethnicity and religious belief, abortion rates range from 61% to 93% in the United States.[ii] In France, where prenatal screening has been enshrined in public policy, the rate increases to at least 96%.[iii]

With such a high termination rate, research done by Dr. Brian Skotko, co-director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, is particularly striking. He has shown that:

  • 99% of people with Down syndrome are happy with their lives
  • 97% of people with Down syndrome like who they are
  • 99% of parents said they love their child with Down syndrome
  • 5% of parents felt embarrassed by their child
  • 97% of brothers/sisters, ages 9-11, said they love their sibling[iv]

Individuals and families living with Down syndrome overwhelmingly report satisfaction with their lives, but the majority of parents continue to elect abortion following prenatal diagnosis. The contrast presented in these two sources raises critical questions about how prenatal diagnosis is delivered, the perception of support for the intellectually disabled and their families, and the stigma that still remains regarding intellectual disability.

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Tagged with: