New Zealand may get a national screening programme for Down syndrome birth defects next year – four years after health officials were told some of the present testing is not safe enough.
But political sensitivities continue to dog the project and officials have suggested calling it a “quality improvement” rather than a national screening programme, according to a senior academic.
The Health Ministry’s antenatal screening unit called in 2007 for changes to improve antenatal screening for Down syndrome.
Talk about Nazi euphemisms – “quailty improvement”!!!
Brendan Malone
Dean Mischewski
John Kennedy
Georgina Priest
Truth Seeker
Bobby Schindler
Chris Pemberton
I would suggest that those most affected are the babies with Down Syndrome who will have their lives cut short in the womb because of “quality improvement”. What “quality” are we improving? Obviously not the quality of the baby’s life. Certainly not the quality of lives of those born, both adults and children who already have Down syndrome or their families who often have to fight for the appropriate level of assistance for their children. On one hand as a society we are encouraged to “be inclusive” of our children with disabilities when it comes to education, sport, social activities, work, living arrangements etc; that everyone is special! But on the other hand we are told their lives are not worth living if they can be screened out before birth. This is blatant eugenics, not to mention discrimination on the basis of age. After all if the baby misses being “quality controlled” before birth, why not do it after birth as infanticide is a lot safer physically for the mother – of course psychologically it could be damaging for her, but then so is abortion! One quality most people with Down syndrome possess is the ability to accept people for who they are. I think we need more people who are capable of being so accepting. “Pregnancies being lost unnecessarily” is a euphemism for saying the aborted baby didn’t have Down syndrome. But why is it “necessary” to kill any baby in the womb, when you would be tried for murder if you killed the same baby a few months after birth. I know several people with Down syndrome. They are all unique individuals with different personalities and abilities. I and several other people I know have adopted babies with Down syndrome and while life can at times be stressful (and reading news items like this doesn’t help) raising these children is a rewarding experience. (Originally posted on TV 3 website which has the same story as the TV One link, but with an opportunity to post comments.)
The TV3 link to this story now has 12 comments, most of them being a discussion between me and Craig who obviously strongly believes in abortion and that difficult circumstances justify abortion. http://www.3news.co.nz/National-screening-for-Down-Syndrome-on-the-way/tabid/423/articleID/128730/cat/526/Default.aspx I’m just mentioning this because in my last comment (No 12 – I’m giving up the discussion) I have posted links to websites that I think would be helpful to anyone faced with a serious prenatal diagnosis, regardless of what disability or health condition is detected.