Aspies For Freedom

Autism Speaks fund research to find the autism genetic code(s) - the AGRE project specifically. They have also publicly said that they want to support development of a prenetal test, so that it is possible to screen whether babies in wombs are autistic.

Many people fear this could lead to wide-spread abortions of potentially autistic fetuses, so much for a world without autism.

It makes me angry that Autism Speaks want to develop a prenetal test. Do they not respect autistic people? Do they rather want to exterminate us from earth's surface?

At the same time they demonize autism and the experience of raising an autistic child through the media, affecting people who in the future might have to decide whether or not to abort a potentially autistic fetus.

It's called eugenics, and this will be an issue about survival.

Where did you see this Ivar? If it is true it stinks.

This is abit old, but it gives you some overview of the issue:

NAAR and CAN mentioned in the text have merged with Autism Speaks.

http://www.aspergianpride.com/prenatal.shtml

This isn't news........

Thanks for the link, erkolos, that's a really interesting interview.  I'll need to go back to it again when I have more time.

I think there is a general lack of thought about pre-natal testing and what it leads to.  It something that most people do not have to deal with directly or personally so if they think about it at all they think about treatment rather than abortion.

Because I was over 30 when I became pregnant I was offered, and refused, prenatal testing for Downs Syndrome.  Prenatal testing also carries an increased risk of miscarriage.

I'd have refused prenatal testing too, even if I were pregnant at age 35 or later. The risk of miscarriage just doesn't seem worth it to have the procedure.