Aspies For Freedom

There's been some discussion on the board from time to time about the future of genetic testing, Asperger's & autism, and the possibility of people selecting to abort fetuses testing positive for AS.

As most of us probably know, prenatal testing options are already available for some conditions -- Down's Syndrome being one of them.  I got curious to know what the figures might be surrounding Down's Syndrome abortions, so I did a little Googling.  What I found will certainly give us lots of pause for thought....

According to Wikipedia:  Today, Down Syndrome is considered a ground for abortion in an increasing number of countries. The number of children born with Down Syndrome is decreasing due to a large number of abortions after an early diagnosis of Down Syndrome during pregnancy. In a hearing before the German Parliament, doctors stated that 90% of all children prenatally diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted. This number is consistent with the official statistics, wherein 1500 children with Down Syndrome should, statistically, have been born per year (at a prevalence rate of 1:600), but only 63 p.a. were listed in the 1995 birth register.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

The figure for the UK is 92% (for Spina Bifida it's 90%).

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/t...8_2001.pdf

And, in the U.S., I found that the figures are somewhere between 80 and 90%.  (Never mind that the Down's Syndrome test can, apparently, be anywhere from 20 - 40% inaccurate.)

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?P...0405a.html

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Now, personally, I do not advocate making abortion illegal -- I don't believe in imposing morality on others (at least in this case).  Nor do I want studies into the genetics of AS to stop -- I'm just too curious.

However, I STRONGLY object to this scenario:  [A] study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology shows that many pregnant women receive only negative information from medical professionals when a prenatal diagnosis reveals a potential for giving birth to a baby with Down syndrome.

http://www.ndsccenter.org/ajog.pdf

This ought to be stopped in the case of Down's Syndrome -- and we need to prevent this from happening in the case of AS/autism!  I'm all for letting people make choices, but they have to be informed choices.  If 90% of AS/autistic pregnancies were to be aborted in the future, what might that mean for humanity as a whole given that many scientists, artists, philosophers, thinkers in general have been/are on the autistic spectrum (and have had other "conditions")?  People need to be made aware.

Additionally, people need to face up to what their choice is really about.  I've heard many people rationalize that their choice to not have a Down's Syndrome child would be because it wouldn't be fair to the child, etc., etc. (we all know the sort of argument).  People need to admit that the choice is largely about themselves.  As Kathie Snow wrote about the "autism epidemic" over on Disability is Natural:

Parents and grandparents speak of “indescribable pain, frustration, sadness, grief, feelings of loss” and more. News stories detail all the “treatments” parents are putting their children through: diet, behavior programming, therapies, medications of all kinds, swimming with dolphins, and much more. But what about the feelings of the children or adults who have autism? Many adults with disabilities have painfully told me about their treatment-filled childhoods, and added, “I wish my parents could have loved me just the way I am.” So I wonder if many children with autism are feeling “indescribable pain, frustration, sadness, grief, and feelings of loss,” not because they have autism, but because of the way they're being treated!

http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/email/2005-02.htm

Couldn't have put it better myself.

Thank you for posting the articles.

I am also dismayed that parents would abort their babies because of cleft palate (can be corrected by surgery).  

When parents are asked what virtues they would like their children to have,  I would naturally think of obedience, kindness, happiness...   Most young mothers replied to me that independance for their child was their top priority above all else.  So it seems that dependency is what repulses them about their children.  The thought that their child might have to grow up dependent on someone to take them to the bathroom or provide protection for them is just disgusting to them.  That their child might never have a job to support themselves.  This thinking that independance is so important is the root of all this prejudice against disabled people.  

I particularly dislike the label disabled because it does not illustrate what people ARE capable of doing.  Most disabled people would work if given the opportunity.

I think that it is very sad that children with the conditions mentioned in your post are aborted for that reason only. Those statistics are shocking; I had no idea that the numbers were so high. I agree that a large part of this problem is the negative information that parents receive from doctors (and from the media too, in my opinon, that often describes any "disability" as horrible and pitiful).

That is why I am so grateful that AFF and other groups are attempting, through polite / peaceful action, to get the word out about the positives of the spectrum now, before a test is available. This is a really difficult task, considering the sometimes negative reactions to such beliefs, but I hope that we can continue to have a polite and positive attitude, even when confronted. I think that this can be greatly beneficial for the public's perception of persons on the spectrum.

I also love that quote from Kathie Snow. It's good to have support for this idea from someone who is not specifically a member of the "autistic community."   :grin:

M, I don't really like the term "disabled" either. There is another quote from Kathie Snow about terminology: "'Disabled' is also not appropriate. Traffic reporters frequently say, 'disabled vehicle.' (They once said, 'stalled car.') In that context, 'disabled' means 'broken down.' People with disabilities are not broken!"

But I thought that doctors had to sign a Hippocratic Oath - first, do no harm. Now, I would say that killing off unborn babies is certainly very harmful to the babies, if not the mothers.

People are often very selfish these days and that includes the doctors who stand to make money from people's misfortunes by pressuring them into having an abortion. I agree that both sides of the story should be presented ie. there should also be examples of parents who have had a downs syndrome child and are coping fine.

Also, there are far worse things in life than to have a downs syndrome child. How about if you had a lovely child and then they died of cancer, or were murdered or died in an accident? I should think that was far worse. Or what if you lost your whole family, like a lot of people did when the Tsunamis hit on Boxing Day or when some other natural disaster happens.

I think that not enough emphasis is placed on just living one day at a time instead of having to bear the whole future in one hit. If a doctor told me I should have my child aborted, I would say no I don't want to. Prenatal tests often are only about 50% accurate anyway, having many "false positives" and "false negatives".

Late abortions are often very unpleasant (not that any abortions are pleasant) as the mother has to go through a normal labour only to give birth to a dead baby. It is very harrowing to say the least.

That's genocide in my opinion, to kill someone because they have Downs Syndrome, Aspergers, Autism, or something easily fixed through surgery like a cleft palate.

I'm just fortunate that friends of mine with a Downs baby were among the 10% who chose to raise him and allow him to live. Their son is now almost 2 and is one of the sweetest kids I've met. To me, there are worse things than having a child with a disorder, losing a child to cancer or a car wreck are examples. I absolutely hate the term "disability" when describing a person, because it implies that something's broken, which just isn't true because we as humans are unique. Some of us have different wiring, that's all.