OPINION:
Almost 22 years ago, my mom faced an impossible decision. At least that’s how the doctors framed it. Doctors told my parents they were certain that their unborn child had Trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome.
The first option given was amniocentesis, a prenatal test performed between the 15th and 20th weeks of pregnancy to diagnose genetic disorders and other health issues in a fetus. However, there is a high risk of complications and even miscarriage.
My parents didn’t need to see a positive or negative result; they were going to raise and love the child — me — regardless of a genetic test. To my mother, it was no question at all. No matter what happened, she would do everything in her power to keep her child and protect that life at all costs.
But still, doctors made sure to tell my parents that abortion was still an option.
Today, this option has become far too normalized. Yet it can still stir controversy, as famous YouTubers Jesse and Ashley Ridgway discovered when they publicly revealed they were opting for abortion after learning that their unborn baby boy had Down syndrome.
The couple posted about the “difficult” decision to end his life, looking for sympathy from the online community. They got some, but they also drew a great deal of criticism. Many people told them the truth: They violently ended their beautiful child’s life.
The Ridgways didn’t even argue that the baby was just a “clump of cells,” a common euphemism that deliberately avoids acknowledging the humanity of children in the womb. The scary part is that they referred to the baby as an “unborn child,” which proves that they knew they were taking a human life.
A large percentage of children diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted, despite prenatal screening tests being imperfect and often producing false positives. A report found that the “positive results on those tests are incorrect about 85% of the time.”
Every unborn child has inherent value regardless of disability, and society should be extremely cautious about using prenatal test results as a basis for abortion decisions.
It is estimated that 60% to 90% of children diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted in the U.S., compared to 18% of all pregnancies ending in abortion. Both percentages are equally concerning.
This shows a broader cultural shift that promotes aborting babies because of challenging conditions instead of giving parents the resources to give that child a meaningful life. We need legislation to address this growing concept and reverse this changing culture.
A Down syndrome diagnosis should not determine whether someone is allowed to live. This decision is portrayed as compassion. But it’s not. It’s a death sentence.
My mom remembers the exact moment the doctors put the offer of abortion on the table. It was one of the scariest things she had ever experienced.
I was born months later, healthy, and I do not have Down syndrome. Many mothers are given this diagnosis, but when they give birth, it turns out not to be true.
While this will not be the case for everyone, a baby’s value should not be determined by a genetic test, and every child deserves unconditional love and care from their parents.
Doctors need to be advocating to save and cherish every human life, not giving out death sentences as an option. Abortion should be off the table completely.
Healthcare providers spend years in medical school learning how to give healthy lifestyle advice and perform life-saving procedures. We need to return to that standard. Healthcare is meant to save lives, so shouldn’t unborn babies be granted that same treatment?
It can be hard to receive an unexpected diagnosis, and many think there is no clear path or way to navigate it.
But there is. Each person with Down syndrome is intrinsically and immeasurably valuable. Many organizations and resources exist in communities across the country, right now, to walk alongside parents and families. Not just when they’re faced with a prenatal diagnosis, but throughout their child’s life.
If more doctors shared information like this with parents, instead of the phone number for the local abortion clinic, how many lives could be saved?
President Trump is the most pro-life president of this generation, and we’ve made progress toward supporting mothers, but more still needs to be done.
Live Action, a global human-rights movement dedicated to providing mothers with the tools, information, and resources they need to make the courageous decision to choose life, is just one of the various organizations bringing attention to this issue.
Babies cannot speak for themselves, and mothers are their strongest advocates and first line of defense. That’s why we must fight for stronger laws and meaningful executive action that provide mothers with the emotional, educational and practical support they need.
• Payton Kiasevicz is a communications fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
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