Posted on 09/06/2008 7:30:53 PM PDT by madprof98
Amid the barbs and hockey banter Wednesday night, Gov. Sarah Palin directed an emotional appeal to the hearts of millions of parents with children who have special needs, promising they would “have a friend and advocate in the White House” in a McCain-Palin administration.
Palin’s offer of friendship sparked hope in many parents, advocates and lawyers as the often-marginalized subject of disabilities rights took center stage.
Ms. Palin’s effort to rally parents of children with disabilities has also prompted reaction among those who fear that her idea of advocacy might really mean preventing abortions of fetuses with Down syndrome, rather than lobbying for the early medical and developmental assistance that is so crucial to their children’s well-being.
New technology is enabling more women to learn in earlier stages of pregnancy whether their fetus is affected by Down syndrome. About 90 percent choose to terminate pregnancies. Parents of children with disabilities have sought to educate prospective parents on the emotional rewards of having children like their own. But many say they know better than anyone else how crucial it is that they be given a choice.
“Surely she understands that it can be dark and difficult sometimes,” Sarahlynn Lester, whose daughter has Down syndrome, wrote on her blog this week about Ms. Palin. “Having been in the same position, I simply do not understand the desire to legislate (rather than educate) women into making better choices.”
Nancy Iannone, a Democrat and mother of Gabrielle, 3, who has Down syndrome, said that she was so thrilled to see Trig on stage that she had to remind herself: “I am a liberal. I am a liberal. I am a liberal.” Ms. Palin, she said, “has a child with a disability, but that doesn’t mean her party is disability friendly.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Liberals only want perfect people, it seems. That’s why abortion is so popular with them.
As a mother of a special needs kid, I would like to see what McCain has in mind. Being an advocate doesn’t mean much.
Democratic Party-— The Party of the Unborn Dead!
What are you looking for?
The study of Sarah’s mommy skills:
Trigimometry.
A young couple I know, who have been friends of mine for years, were told that their child would be born with Down’s Syndrome. They were advised by their doctor to abort the baby while there was still ample time. Being Christian, and against abortion, they decided to add this third child to their family, no matter what the care would entail.
But - the baby was born WITHOUT Down’s Syndrome, even though two tests had indicated otherwise. That “baby” came to see me a couple of months ago - a healthy six-foot-four electrician-in-training. He went all through my house, fixing light fixtures, checking wiring, and making changes when he found faulty wiring. What a blessing to me! What a blessing to his family. What a handsome, kind young man - with all his mental abilities intact.
I wonder out of all the thousands and thousands of babies who have been diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome prior to birth, and subsequently aborted, would have turned out to be as normal as this young man?
Disabled children have no greater enemy then the lefist media and politicians who feel the only way to deal with the issue is aborting them.
No disabled children, no problem.
I’d sure like to see a comment from Eunice Kennedy Shriver or Maria Shriver. An advocate in the White House for families with special needs? They’d have to say something complimentary, wouldn’t they? Well, wouldn’t they??
Posting a post-script to myself —
My point in my previous post was that babies shouldn’t be aborted. A human life is precious whether that life is challenged by a disability or not, and deserves love and care and understanding and acceptance, as Christ would do.
My point was to emphasize that in all those abortions of diagnosed Down’s Syndrome babies - doctors can also be wrong.
Just wow! Kill 'em. Kill 'em all. That'll help 'em.
I wish this article were a parody and not a reality.
It is the perfect indication of pathological hatred the Left holds for the pro life community.
Women need to be “educated to make better choices” regarding babies with downs syndrome?!
Wow!
Let’s get specific about those better choices. I bet they all end with a dead downs baby.
The idea that the party does not support people with disabilities. Again wow!
President Bush Sr. lead the battle for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities act— the most historical and decisive national legislation on the question. The idea that the disabled are beholden to Democrats is yet another flawed sense of entitlement that the Left holds to anyone who might be exploited as a victim class.
My great aunt and uncle had a down syndrome baby back in the 50’s. Back then the common practice was for the doctors to convince the new parents to put the child directly into an institution instead of taking it home from the hospital. Most did this. The poor babies died very young from lack of care, love, affection, etc.
My aunt and uncle chose to take their baby home and raise it just like they did their other four children.
They were told that he’d never live past the age of 8.
He is now in his 50’s. And still going strong.
My aunt spent many years of her life traveling and giving lectures about down syndrome children. Her son learned to cook, read, clean, take care of his own needs, etc.
After all her other children were grown and gone, scattered across the country, they still had their down syndrome child. He was their constant companion and kept them occupied and young.
After my uncle died My aunt had only her son to keep her company and now that she is frail her son is what keeps her from being alone and vulnerable and unsafe.
There isn’t a doubt in my mind that the same child that everyone tried to convince her would be a burnden has been her biggest blessing.
One would think that the Times would at least know enough to use person-first language. It should be children with special needs, not special-needs children as they are people first and foremost.
My wife teaches piano to childen with Down syndrome and autism and the kids are the best!
Has very little to do with the entire article. It's like someone just tossed that paragraph into the article.
Mrs. Palin indeed does have experience with the perplexities of serving high needs children. That bit in the article re: Alaska, is the mere briefest synopsis in describing the difficulties Alaska has had.
And, this:
Mr. McCain voted to reauthorize the law, but voted against a measure, with nearly every other member of his party, to increase financing through a reduction in tax cuts for the wealthy. Mr. McCain has been a proponent of school vouchers, denounced by many advocates for children with special needs as draining public money away from special education programs; Ms. Palin is a school-choice advocate, her spokeswoman said.
In my research, I've seen that the very best and most productive educational programs for Special Needs children is indeed funded by private means. And while so, is often hampered by what occurs inside the bureacracies designed to deal with special needs children.
The key to resolving these issues is, school choice (aka: Vouchers).
IME, too, way too many children are being bureacratically designated "special needs", and the corruption grows inside CA. Whereas in NC, more does need to be done in dealing with special needs children and adults. While, say, CA is far too punitive to businesses via legislations, in NC, for example, businesses fear the encroaching ADA abuses they've already witnessed as having taken place in states like CA. The solution lies somewhere in the middle. The ADA advocates in states like CA have thoroughly politicized the goals of the ADA, turning small businesses bankrupt.
I hardly think the other states with people more economically astute wish to see the same results as CA in their own states.
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