Also, unrelated to this particular topic: the current issue of Newsweek features a back-page piece by George Will about his son, who has Down Syndrome.
Heh, well, this one is an anti-abortion screed. For me, I wish we had known Nicholas had Down's Syndrome months ago. No one, ever, should have to combine the pangs and joy of delivery with that kind of shock. To live with an imagined son for so many months, only to meet something new and have to mourn in the way Shannon and I have.
Sorry, my other (woefully inarticulate) comment was meant to go here.
FWIW, I think Will is wrong - not everyone who learns earlier of a chromosomal abnormality will choose to abort (perhaps he feels guilty because he would have, had he been given the opportunity).
As you've said, it would be better to know sooner rather than later. So I think that the new policy of recommending diagnostic testing to everyone, regardless of age, makes sense, since obviously the less invasive methods (ultrasound, the quad screen) are not as reliable when it comes to identifying problems.
What I appreciated about the Will piece was how very much he loves his son, and what a happy life Jon appears to lead.
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Date: 2007-01-26 01:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-26 12:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-26 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-26 01:46 pm (UTC)FWIW, I think Will is wrong - not everyone who learns earlier of a chromosomal abnormality will choose to abort (perhaps he feels guilty because he would have, had he been given the opportunity).
As you've said, it would be better to know sooner rather than later. So I think that the new policy of recommending diagnostic testing to everyone, regardless of age, makes sense, since obviously the less invasive methods (ultrasound, the quad screen) are not as reliable when it comes to identifying problems.
What I appreciated about the Will piece was how very much he loves his son, and what a happy life Jon appears to lead.
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Date: 2007-01-26 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-26 05:06 pm (UTC)