Better off aborted? - in the womb and out of the womb?

Having recently been extremely delighted by the birth of our son, I cast my mind back to some of the sessions we had with a mid-wife.

Amniocentesis is something we were offered (even though for a start there is a risk, however, of about 1 in 100 to 200 of a spontaneous miscarriage after the procedure*). This is the test to find out if our child had downs syndrome.

According to one source, three children with down's syndrome are aborted every day. For more info click here.

One would have to ask why? why would we want to test to see if this is the case? I keep seeing the words 'risk' and 'termination' and 'learning difficulties in schools.' The risk being that the child has downs syndome so the tests are carried out. The termination offered probably because they are either a burden to the parent or society. But one article I found here, suggests its because "Down's syndrome (DS) is the commonest single cause of significant learning disability in children of school age."

One would then ask, on that basis, should we line up every child who falls into this catagory thats alive today and have them, well, shot? or more to the point of 'termination,' should we rip their body apart and throw it in the bin? In the end, this is pretty much what is being said, whatever the reason is for 'terminating' a baby with downs syndrome.

Today an article appeared on the BBC news website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8327228.stm

'Steep rise in down's pregnancies'

Again, using the word 'risk' but breathing a sigh of relief with the words 'An increase in the number of subsequent abortions and more antenatal diagnoses means slightly fewer children are being born with Down's syndrome.' as if that makes things ok. Then followed by 'Despite the higher number of Down's pregnancies, the number of Down's syndrome babies has fallen by 1%, from 752 to 743.'

Then 'This is because improved antenatal screening means more Down's pregnancies are being spotted and more abortions are taking place. Without the improved screening, the number of babies born with Down's would have risen by 48%, according to the study.'

So, let me get this straight, the NHS technology is 'improved' because it will bring about more murders of innocent children?!?

However, the article does have a very postive end, which really should have been at the beginning. Its worth quoting because everyone should be made aware of such words before they are pursuaded to have a test.

Doctors told Natasha and Eddie Batha that there was a one-in-170 chance that their daughter Mia, who is now three, would be born with the condition.

Mr Batha told BBC Breakfast that their shock of learning that Mia did have Down's syndrome soon gave way to the realisation that the condition was not as bad as they feared.

'Another human being'

He said: "You're led to believe that it's the worst thing that could possibly ever happen to you.

"And then you realise it's just another human being who happens to be a little bit different.

"She just takes a bit more effort and she is a bit slower to pick up on things."

His wife agreed that many people were misinformed about Down's syndrome and she thinks this has contributed to the high abortion rate.

She said: "Because you have a test [during pregnancy] you think that it must be a terrible thing if it happened.

"There's no qualifying information and I think that would be really useful to get that and it might affect a lot of people's decision as to whether they could live with that."

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So, in summary, it is so important to remember that 'termination' of a child in the womb is no different to murdering a child that has been born (see articles below).

Go and meet a child with downs syndrome before you make any decisions (if this article has not convinced you) as well as reading the links below.

Scientific reasons why a baby is human from conception:
When does life begin?
http://tinyhope.blogspot.com/2009/07/when-does-human-life-begin.html

The non-religious college who says life begins at conception:
http://tinyhope.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-makes-non-religious-college-of.html

If you have had an abortion in the past or are considering one now, PLEASE know that forgiveness can be found by getting right with your Creator. Visit here for more details.