Posted on 02/04/2016 8:38:28 PM PST by kathsua
In 2014, the British government reported 12 late-term unborn babies were aborted simply because they had Down syndrome.
This disturbing statistic is prompting one mother of a boy with the condition to put a stop to the deadly, discriminatory practice.
Sarah Roberts from Guildford, England, is a mother of three who is trying to convince others that the lives of those with Down syndrome have value. Robertsâ son Oscar has the genetic disorder.
She tells Eagle radio: âA lot of the children we hang around with are typical children. They donât necessarily notice any differences yet but Iâm sure as time goes on they will. But I think itâs going to be a benefit to them to have Oscar in their lives, and enrich it ⦠I think itâs going to be a benefit to Alfie (2 years old) and Flo (6 months old), to have Oscar in their lives.â
The urgency of her message is increasing given that pregnant women in the UK are now able to get a more accurate prenatal screening test for Down syndrome that detects tiny fragments of the babyâs DNA in the motherâs blood. Pro-life advocates are worried that this will increase abortions of unborn babies with Down syndrome.
Thatâs why Roberts is sharing a petition that explains how increased medical capabilities are helping people with Down syndrome to live long, healthy lives. In fact, as previously reported on LifeNews, 99 percent of people with Down syndrome say they are happy in their lives, but 90 percent of Down syndrome babies are killed by abortion before they get much of a chance to live.
âMore and more people with Down Syndrome are living independently with varying degree of support and in paid or voluntary work. Most adults with Down Syndrome can read and write,â according to the petition.
British law does not protect Down syndrome babies from abortion. The country bans most abortions after 24 weeks, but the 1967 Abortion Act states that abortion after 24 weeks is allowable if âThere is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.â
This wording has been used to justify extremely late-term abortions for babies with Down syndrome, a reality that the petitioners are aiming to change by calling for clarified guidelines that protect those with the condition. The petitioners believe that the current law sends a bad message to parents and society in general that babies with Down syndrome suffer and struggle with serious handicaps.
CLICK LIKE IF YOUâRE PRO-LIFE!
Roberts explains what happened to her before Oscar was born: âThe first thing someone said to me was âIâm sorry, we suspect your baby has Downâs syndrome. And to me, that message just made me panic. If the medical professionals that were delivering the news, the consultants, the midwives, everybody got on board, and we could change the perception. If they werenât so fearful, then I think as a country we wouldnât be so fearful.â
Roberts writes on her blog âDonât Be Sorry,â which can be viewed here, about her experiences raising Oscar and dealing with how people perceive him. The home page of her blog includes a short biography of his life:
âThis is Oscar. Heâs my son. He also happens to have Down syndrome. I know I am only one voice but I figure itâs time to diminish any misconceptions or prejudices about Down syndrome that we might haveâ¦. And when you look at this face, how could anyone be sad to have him as a part of their life? I am officially the luckiest mummy in the world.â
The petition to stop late-term abortions of babies with Down syndrome in England has a goal of 10,000 signatures and can be signed here.
Trig may have something to do with it? Left can’t handle it.
The Down’s syndrome people that I have met certainly have benefited my life in so many ways. Then again if you are going to murder someone via abortion does it really matter why? The baby is inconvenient, kill it. The baby is the wrong gender, kill it. The baby is deformed in some way kill it. Kill kill kill is what the culture of death does.
At my church we have a sweet little couple who both have Down Syndrome. They both have jobs and they recently got married. For those who are curious about whether DS people getting married I can’t answer that. All I know is that they are happy and their parents are happy. And it all is very life-affirming.
If pro-lifers start using the term "preborn" I believe that it will make a difference over time because it is more accurate.
Liberals are winning the "undocumented immigrant" vs. "illegal immigrant" term battle. Even Rush refers to them with this term. We need to turn the tide and use only the terms "preborn" and "illegal immigrant".
All children are a blessing from God and those with what we’d call disabilities glorify God.
Persons with Down Syndrome are among the sweetest and most humble you will ever encounter.
Benefit or hindrance. Nascent life is not a choice.
If democrats make killing healthy babies a hobby, why would they treat Downs babies any differently? Of course the democrats want them dead too - the body parts are still worth something.
“Kill them all. Let the accountant sort them out”.
It’s their version of: “Kill them all. Let God sort them out”.
When that Down’s Syndrome couple marry and reproduce, Mr. Genetics says they are taking a large and unnecessary risk of having genetically deficient children. Said children will have many ‘special needs’ and the society at large(you amd me) will be billed for those services.
Add in the welfare bills, and the productive population has not been able to afford as many children because the government takes their money away and gives it to the lower end of the gene pool. We are thus forced to subsidize the production of below normal people by the normal/above normal.
Tomorrow does not look any better.
This is a sure way to national demise.
I have a simple understanding of abortion. Abortion is murder. To kill a human being (downs syndrome or not) prior to birth is just as much murder as killing a human after birth.
If the goal is to cleanse society of undesirables, then let’s start executing violent criminals in prison.
Um, OK. What's the difference between an illegal immigrant and an illegal alien?
To me the important thing is to change "undocumented" to "illegal". (Undocumented immigrants are people who can't remember which drawer they put their papers in.)
OK. Thanks for the info. I’ll use the term “Illegal Alien” from now on.
Re abortion. I ask that pro-lifers use the term “preborn” instead of “unborn”. Thanks.
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