Would YOU abort your "down syndrome" baby?

[T-1 Thunder]

Assuming you know for a fact you can have kids again in the future and you are guaranteed to get pregnant again and have another kid to try again, and that this is not a one shot deal.

Also assuming it's the 1st trimester and it's "no big deal" to have it done.

Please be honest, nobody can see your answer. You can answer the poll honestly, and then post and lie to make yourself feel better.

The standard model seems to suggest 92% of all women terminate the pregnancy when notified of such out come.

 

[Marlowe]

I support retroactive abortion.

 

[mookiera]

Yes.
I also would have aborted Sarah Palin's, and it would be out of her misery.

 

[NorCalAthlete]

In before the pro life / pro choice / pro whatever arguments...


...but I'm pretty sure I'd vote for aborting it.

 

[Gnarly Cranium]

If you're easily offended, stop here and skip to the next post, cause my opinion on this issue is pretty intense.

Like it or not, the future of our evolution rests squarely in our own hands now. The only way to end hereditary diseases is to stop perpetuating them.

Why subject a child to intense suffering that is easily prevented? Would the child really appreciate it, if they knew you had the choice, and decided to saddle them with a life of such hardships so they could serve as an ornament to your own self-righteous squeamishness?

 

[Dr. Evil]

If you're easily offended, stop here and skip to the next post, cause my opinion on this issue is pretty intense.

Like it or not, the future of our evolution rests squarely in our own hands now. The only way to end hereditary diseases is to stop perpetuating them.

I'm offended by how entirely beside the point this post is. If you think that people with Down's Syndrome are at serious risk of breeding...

The biggest impediment to our evolution, RIGHT NOW, is the advanced and sophisticated state of shock-trauma medicine.

Why subject a child to intense suffering that is easily prevented? Would the child really appreciate it, if they knew you had the choice, and decided to saddle them with a life of such hardships so they could serve as an ornament to your own self-righteous squeamishness?

I wouldn't necessarily say, unequivocally, that people with Down's suffer. Some with more serious cases probably do, but on the whole, Down's kids don't seem to suffer. They're stupider than average, and uglier than average, but half of humanity is. Why pick on them for being further down the bell-curve than most?

 

[jacksprat]

They're just a drain of resources with very little, if any, potential to contribute towards the improvement of our species. Life is painful enough when you have all your mental faculties, utter foolish and cruel to bring in a life that is severely hampered from the word go.

Without a second thought.

 

[T-1 Thunder]

I'd prefer to stay away from pro life pro choice arguments.
I'd prefer to stay PERSONAL with YOUR opinion on what YOU would do.

And the reasons why, of course.

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

I don't think a pregnancy of a Downs baby (or retarded or debilitating birth defect baby) should be continued. Humans are not in such short supply that we need to worry about bringing every pregnancy to term. Additionally, IF those babies survive to adulthood, many become a financial drain on a government that's already sinking... and certainly on the parents. And then who takes care of them when the parents pass away?
It's certainly a tough choice to make... but I'd terminate the pregnancy.

 

[Melissa]

No I would not.

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

I'm offended by how entirely beside the point this post is. If you think that people with Down's Syndrome are at serious risk of breeding...

The biggest impediment to our evolution, RIGHT NOW, is the advanced and sophisticated state of shock-trauma medicine.



I wouldn't necessarily say, unequivocally, that people with Down's suffer. Some with more serious cases probably do, but on the whole, Down's kids don't seem to suffer. They're stupider than average, and uglier than average, but half of humanity is. Why pick on them for being further down the bell-curve than most?

It's got nothing to do with their looks. The lack of mental acuity of a Downs Child puts them a LOT further down the Bell curve... to the point that a significant amount of them are not able to work and support themselves. Where does the money come from to put them into a halfway house, where they can be supervised and cared for throughout their adult lives? Your tax money at work.
Societal drain without contributing to the good of society. Just seems to be in the best interest of all parties to terminate the pregnancy.

 

[Gragorin]

It's a life of medical problems for most that have the trisomy 21 disorder so I'm in favor of abortion.

 

[T-1 Thunder]

For me, it would be the hardest decision I've ever made.

And the conflict would come from whether I'm being SELFISH for KEEPING it.
Knowing he/she would not experience a full life, knowing I'm putting them through all that - just to "prove" I'm a good person? Just so I could "sleep with myself" at night?

I'm not sure if I'm worth it. I'm not sure if I'd be ready to handle playing God. Not sure I could play the savior or play the villain. Not sure if I could afford it. I'm just not sure of any of it.

But I'm curious about other people that "think" they are sure and the reasons they have for it or against it.

 

[Gixxergirl1000]

For me, it would be the hardest decision I've ever made.

And the conflict would come from whether I'm being SELFISH for KEEPING it.
Knowing he/she would not experience a full life, knowing I'm putting them through all that - just to "prove" I'm a good person? Just so I could "sleep with myself" at night?

I'm not sure if I'm worth it. I'm not sure if I'd be ready to handle playing God. Not sure I could play the savior or play the villain. Not sure if I could afford it. I'm just not sure of any of it.

But I'm curious about other people that "think" they are sure and the reasons they have for it or against it.

Think about what happens to your family if you CAN'T handle it... the stress and how it affects you, your wife, the other kids... how the other kids DON'T get your attention because of the demands of the special needs baby... and what happens when the marriage collapses under the strain? Most people aren't equipped to handle the demands of a Special Needs child... a few rise nobly to the occasion... most just fuck it up.

 

[jacksprat]

Not pulling out is playing God.

 

[T-1 Thunder]

It would be a hard balance, no doubt about it.
But in the end, would you feel the decision was selfish or selfless?

By the way, I'm the type that thinks if a person is a vegetable, life support should be pulled. If the spirit has left the body and machines make it run, time to pull the plug. This goes for me, my wife, my kids, my family.

But there is a difference here. These kids HAVE a soul. They smile, they laugh, they cry. They are not in a vegetative state.

To me, this is the most significant aspect of such a decision.

(this thread is brought about due to Sarah Palins new show about Alaska)

I'm also curious how we, the people of BARF, stack up with the general stats on this.

 

[nazgulnarsil]

my position nicely circumvents the pro life argument. sure, you can classify it as murder legally, but I think parents should have the right to murder their children at the very least up until the mirror stage (18 months or so?)

 

[V4]

not everyone can support a child let alone a normal one..

but yes, i'd give him/her life and the love to live on this fucked up world...hell, if i can understand the situation even better which i probably would if it were to be my child, i'd adopt another in the same condition and the support they may need...as for 'evolution of man', i just see most 'normal' ones just be self centered assholes ...what the world has plenty....hell, i don't give a shit if they aborted these fucks after they were born even in their late 20's...

if the child is looking for someone to love them and support them, if i could, i would...

 

[rodr]

I support retroactive abortion.

At least thru the 68th trimester.

No I would not.

With the score at 18-0, I'd say you forgot to vote.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Think about what happens to your family if you CAN'T handle it... the stress and how it affects you, your wife, the other kids... how the other kids DON'T get your attention because of the demands of the special needs baby... and what happens when the marriage collapses under the strain? Most people aren't equipped to handle the demands of a Special Needs child... a few rise nobly to the occasion... most just fuck it up.

This is the only argument in the thread that's any good. (and it's pretty good) The rest of it it a bunch of hogwash. A: Half the people I meet every day are fuckin' morons, and I suffer them to live. Second, there are, again, scads of people who are nothing but a drain on society (how the fuck do you define that, anyway?) and again, I suffer them to live. Why? Because they deserve a crack at life, no matter how lame it will eventually come up to have been. How 'bout this bunch of people who claim to be so open-minded actually think about this one. Have you ever met a down's kid before? My high school was right next to the special ed department of our school district, and let me tell you, the sheer joy that some of these 13-15 year-olds displayed as a result of getting their hands on a box of crayons probably beats out even that of a "normal" 15 year-old getting their hands on another 15 year-old, and by the time they're 25-30, most of them can live independently enough to move out of their family's home. (Which is more than can be said for many kids these days) Just because you've got an IQ of about room-temperature doesn't mean you can't ever be happy (name me one fucking person who's happy ALL, most, or even half the time, and I'll show you a toddler), or bring happiness to others.

When you show me someone who needs serious, ongoing, substantial outside physical help to maintain normal bodily functions, THEN you can start talking to me about pregnancy termination. But if all you can point to is IQ, then all I can do is send you here.

not everyone can support a child let alone a normal one..

Seriously. Most people who DO breed probably shouldn't. :|