I have always known that abortion is a grave injustice to the baby.  But it wasn’t until my daughter was diagnosed at age 2 with a chromosomal disorder that I began to understand the larger implications.  When a mother chooses to abort her baby because he has a genetic disorder, she is sending a message to the world that people with that disorder do not deserve to live.  This is an injustice not only to her own child but to to all children with special needs.  What a wonderful article.

I once heard this story of days past...when passing by a child on the street who had a physical or cognitive disability, people would make the Sign of the Cross for they knew they were in the presence of a soul more innocent, more pure, more holy, & closer to God than many of the rest of us.  What a sad paradox in comparison to the way many view these precious children today.  While people rightly laud great programs like Special Olympics, at the same time, our society considers it irresponsible to give birth to a beautiful child like Trig.  Lord have mercy.

90% eliminated by abortion.  This saddens me deeply!  I have a cousin that is Down Syndrome.  She is six years older than me and the joy and love she has given and continues to give to our family is nothing short of a blessing.  I think how 90% of those families have lost out on that beautiful gift.  I think back to forty years ago when my cousin was born.  My Aunt and Uncle had such an uphill struggle.  They struggled with the opinions of others to put my cousin in a home and then with doctors who did not want to treat and had views along the lines of the “natural selection” theory.  Thank God for the courage of her parents.  Even though she was six years older than me, I loved the fact that she was always ready to play with us (the younger cousins).  She loved swinging us around until we were dizzy.  We never tired of it and neither did she. When I was younger I remember how I thought her parents were being “mean” making her do things for herself and helping out with family chores such as dishes.  As I became older, I saw what a great gift they have given her.  She was put here on earth for a reason.  I truly know that.  One of the reasons could very well have been to save my life.  On a family vacation, many of the cousins were swimming in the Lake jumping waves.  I was one of the shorter ones so the waves were getting big and I was having trouble staying above the water.  I decided to head back to shore.  On my way back, I was losing the struggle against the waves.  I remember it well.  I had been fighting to stay above water and I just became too tired.  I remember giving in and just allowing myself to go to the bottom of the lake.  Seconds later, I was jerked out of the Lake.  She had pulled me up out of the water!  My mother had made it to the me by then.  When we talk about the story, neither of us recall how my cousin knew I was in trouble and my mom says she did not even see my cousin until she pulled me up out of the lake. So when I see that number (90%), I wonder who else did that abortion affect.  I have heard the word burden being used to identify with a pregnant woman making the decision to abort.  I will not deny that there has been hard times.... oh the stories I can tell.  But I am proof that it is all worth it!  The truth is we do not know what God’s plan for us or anyone else is.  That is the true beauty of it all!  I fear that many are presented with the grimness of raising a special needs child and not the joys.  They feel this is the only solution.  Perhaps the presence of Trig will change those opinions!

Danielle, Gerson’s on to something. Whatever else happens in the next 2 months, DS families seem to be seizing their moment and are flocking to wherever the Palin family appears --they’re making Trig’s mom into their champion. See this, for example, which is only one of several such stories I’ve seen:
http://palepage.com/?p=2491

Many years ago I attended the funeral of mentally disabled girl. Her own mother eulogized her and gave a beautiful account of her life as only a mother could. She explained that we as Christians really must struggle to live out our faith. It’s a daily fight. But her daughter just loved. Loved the people around her. Did not complain. Was not selfish. Yes, she may have been dependent but she was childlike, and her smile exuded an effortless love to everyone around her. Her daughter’s life, said the mother, exemplified the Christian life for the rest of us. Those words were so profound that I have never forgotten them, almost 15 years later.

I have read the article and found it very moving. As a mother of child with Trisomy 21 (commonly known as Down Syndrome) I am happy that a mom of a child with the same disease may be in the White House...maybe we will get closer to a cure. 
However, if I may vent a bit....one thing that really bothers me when I see/hear the subject of Down Syndrome discussed in the general public is how often I hear that someone “is a Down’s child” or “is Down Syndrome” or “is a Down’s”. My child is many things, but she is not “A Down’s”. She is cute, smart, stubborn, almost blonde and she HAS Trisomy 21.
By the way, did you all know that the scientist that discovered the reason for Down Syndrome...the triple 21st chromosome, was not only Catholic, but is being considered for canonization: Servant of God Jerome LeJeune.

This probably has been posted, but pray for this family - this wonderful father gave up his life saving his son with Down’s Syndrome.

http://www.catholicherald.com/local_news/detail.html?sub_id=7529

I wanted to point out--partly because I almost wonder if I’m wrong since no one has mentioned it--that the same early test for Trisomy 21 is (or at least was) also a test for spina bifida.  The AFP “Triple Screen” is typically offered to women around 14 weeks.  We refused the test with our first because we knew it was often used to justify abortions.  That baby was diagnosed with spina bifida via ultrasound at 20 weeks.  He has no mental handicaps but is in a wheelchair and I have often gotten questions from people along the lines of “Didn’t you know beforehand?” as if I should have done something about it. 

What I find really sad about these abortions is that many of them are done based on this one test which gives many false positives--and doesn’t even tell you for sure which birth defect your child might have.  By the time further testing can be conducted it is “too late” in many states to have an abortion.  When Sarah Palin promised to be an advocate in the White House for families of children with special needs I cried.  Many heard that as a promise to federally fund programs for the disabled.  I hope she meant that she will promote a culture where these children are welcomed and their parents are not accused of knowingly giving birth to them.  I think the mere presence of Trig Palin in the White House will go a long way towards building that culture.

Thank you Anonymous for bringing up the issue of how we reference children & adults with disabilities.  Please remember that children diagnosed with Downs Syndrome or any other disability are people and souls first and foremost, and are individuals with a disability secondly.  In order to truly acknowledge the value of life despite our differences, please refer to Trig and others as “a child with Down’s Syndrome”

Thank you, Susan!  While many special-needs parents are excited about the chance to see Sarah Palin in Washington, others feel that the Democrats would make more of a difference in our lives by increasing funding.  I just have to think—what a price!  I certainly don’t want to have a president who thinks that my child should never have been born.

The idea that 90 percent of those precious babies are aborted makes my stomach turn. Lord, have mercy on us.

As a mother that had the care and loving of a child with Trisomy 21 and myself a democrat it amazes me to think that the public here on this site really believe that because Sarah Palin has a child with Trisomy 21 she is a saint.  She is a women that McCann placed in this position because he wants to take the focus off of him and onto her.  Let’s be really clear it is McCann that is running office of the President not Sarah Palin.  Her experience is with a small state (population wise) government. She has gotten many dollars in special interest and left a very small city (I have been there) with debt that was not good management.

I pray that our people see this as it is and vote for Obama in November.

Margaret - I don’t believe anybody here is characterizing Sarah Palin as a “saint.” They are simply pointing out that she is living her pro-life beliefs. 
Furthermore - I think that all Catholics should know that our bishops have undisputably pointed out that abortion trumps other issues.  Catholics can disagree when they vote considering candidates’ attitudes towards issues like war, social justice, poverty and even the death penalty.  These issues ARE debatable.
The Catholic Church however clearly states that issues regarding life - abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research are NOT debatable.  These acts are considered “intrinsically evil.” If you vote for a cadidate that supports these acts, you are not in communion with the Catholic Church. As our pastor tells us - hey, the Catholic Church isn’t a social club.  Go ahead and do what you want - but know that your choices may put you outside of our Church.  And if that means the Church has few members - so be it.
It is clear what side Obama is on.  This is a man who voted to refuse medical care to a baby who survives an abortion.  This is a man who stated that if his daughters were to “make a mistake” he wouldn’t want them “punished” (yes...you read that right...PUNISHED) “with a baby.”

I think it’s quite clear if you vote for Obama what your are voting for.

Thank you for posting this article.  I made my own blog entry about it and about how having a severly disabled child has affected me.  http://www.simonpeters.org/ongoingnews.htm?blogentryid=3958938 The word must be about how wrong and how sad this is.  Life is a blessing, always.
Thank you Danielle, for this post.  (If any of you feel like passing on my post--feel free--people need to know the gifts of these children.) I love how a previous poster wrote about making the sign of the cross when passing by a disabled child.  That’s beautiful and true--I’m in awe to think of this child in my home, as pure as Mary and going straight to heaven.  What a gift.
Gretchen

Amen Genevieve!

I overheard a woman shopping at Walmart talking on her cell phone saying how Palin was committing child abuse by having her kids with her so late at teh convention.  REALLY????

Obviously this woman has only one or two kids, has likely never nursed and feels that the death penalty for the preborn is not the ULTIMATE child abuse!!!!

My nursing babies go with me everywhere and if I had to go out of town on business...given any choioce at all… they would be with me rather than stay with someone else.

I am quite sure that if (God forbid) I were making history by running for Vice President, I would want them there with me!

Margaret - What I understood this blog to point out was the amazing influence the beautiful baby Trig is on the nation.  The choice Sarah Palin made to welcome him into a world that only pities anyone with a disability was a non-choice - it just was.  Trig’s moment in the spotlight is highlighting his beauty and I think it is a great testament to how NOT scary children are.  As far as your comment about us thinking Sarah Palin is a saint - I don’t think that is the case at all.  I think Trig is a saint.

What is so cool about Palin is that she walks the walk. She does not just say she is pro-life by how she has voted, she IS pro-life by the decisions she has made. And that is concrete evidence that is so hard to refute and why the pro-choice democrats are so dumbfounded. The decision of her teenage daughter to not terminate her pregnancy, that is more concrete evidence of the belief that life is precious, even if unexpected. As one of our local radio talk hosts said the other day, the fact that Palin’s teenage daughter is pregnant is proof that the safe-sex programs are a failure. And the fact that she has decided not to terminate the pregnancy is a great cheer for the pro-life movement. Part of me truly believes that Governor Palin is an answer to prayer because she has materialized so many messages that before were just rhetoric. She is also a slap in the face to all those disgruntled feminists who have not come to terms with what it means to be a woman, the way God created us to be. And the reason the disgruntled feminists are upset is because Palin is not one of them.

Michelle, I agree; there is nothing as powerful as a good example.
Sarah Palin is an courageously moral woman and an unapologetically prolife Christian mother whose life shines like a beacon in this Culture of Death. The secular media has itself in a tither trying to suppress her light, but it shines nevertheless.
As the mother of a daughter with Trisomy 21 (see “A Special Mother is Born” in “Faith and Family” April/May 2007 issue) I am especially thrilled to have national attention focused on children like Christina.
Their beautiful innocence speaks volumes about the instrinsic value of all human life. All they need is the chance to be seen, and they reflect God’s glory.

God bless you, Trig!

I received this email because of my interest in Sarah Palin.  I have a cousin who has a son with Downs Syndrome.  Everyone on here appreciates the fact that Sarah Palin has an interest in children with disabilities.  I am so moved.  Remember she also has an older son that was deployed to Iraq last week, and she still has room in her heart to help to run our country and make it a better place!  Pray she gets elected, because she is blessed!  As are people who have children like Sarah Palin has!