Opinion: Perfect Storm for Down Syndrome

From the Burlington FreePress, a column by Eileen Haupt of Jericho, Vt., who is the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome and co-founder of KIDS -- Keep Infants with Down Syndrome.

The problem is not really prenatal testing; it is the legality of abortion.
Their beautiful faces with the recognizable features of Down syndrome often grace fundraising and promo­tional brochures. We see their joyful expressions and sense their gentle souls, and want to help them, to volun­teer, even plunge into the frigid waters of Lake Cham­plain in winter to benefit those with intellectual disa­bilities.
But helping individuals with Down syndrome might soon require us to challenge our values. For, to have them as part of our families, schools and communities, requires that they first be born. And therein lies the rub.
There has never been a better time -- in the history of mankind -- for babies with Down syndrome to be born. There is better recognition of their potential, greater knowledge about this genetic condition, supportive laws, inclusion in schools, exciting new research that may lead to treatments for cognitive challenges, and in general, more understanding. In particular, advanced medical technology has significantly improved the quality and longevity of their lives.
But it seems advanced medical technology is a double-edged sword. For it has also enabled the development of more-accurate methods of prenatal testing to diagnose babies while still in the womb, thereby making them targets for abortion. Dr. Brian Skotko of Children's Hospital in Boston estimates that a shocking 92 percent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in utero are aborted.