Category: Abortion and the Disabled

From former Surgeon General C Everett Koop

“I am frequently told by people who have never had the experience of working with children who are being rehabilitated into our society after the correction of a congenital defect that infants with such defects should be allowed to die or even “encouraged” to die, because their lives could obviously be nothing but unhappy and miserable.

Yet it has been my constant experience that disability and unhappiness do not necessarily go together. Some of the most unhappy children whom I have known have all of the physical and mental faculties and on the other hand some of the happiest youngsters have borne burdens which I myself would find very difficult to bear.”

C Everett Koop “The Slide to Auschwitz” in Ronald Reagan, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1984″ 45 to 46 quoted in Randy Alcorn “Pro-life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments” (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2000)

 

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The Previous quote was cited in a book by pro-choice author Janet Hadley in her book “Abortion: between Freedom and Necessity” she goes on to say:

“As spending on welfare services diminishes, health policy conservatives are saying that it is better to spend public money on genetic screening (and, implicitly, on selective abortion) than on research into, or treatment of, the diseases themselves.”

Hadley then gives the following statistic: According to studies, in England three out of four doctors require women to agree to an abortion if the fetus is handicapped prior to genetic tests. According to a second study, risk of miscarriage caused by the test itself is not always told to women or is glossed over.

Janet Hadley “Abortion: between Freedom and Necessity” (Great Britain: Virago Press, 1996) 122

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Barbara Katz Rothman, author of The Tentative Pregnancy, discusses the pressure that pregnant women who have been shown to be carrying disabled unborn babies are under to abort:

“It seems that, in gaining the choice to control the quality of our children, we may be losing the choice of simply accepting them as they are.”

BK Roffman “the Meaning of Choice in Reproductive Technology” in Test Tube Women: What Future Motherhood, page 30. Quoted in Janet Hadley “Abortion: between Freedom and Necessity” (Great Britain: Virago Press) 1996

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According to a pregnant woman who was interviewed while she was waiting for the results of a test to determine whether or not her baby would be handicapped:

“I was hoping I’d never have to make this choice, to become responsible for choosing the kind of baby I’d get, the kind of baby we’d accept. But everyone, my doctors, my parents, my friends, everyone urged me to have an amniocentesis… and they all told me I’d feel more in control. But I guess I feel less in control. It’s still my baby, but only if it’s good enough to be our baby, if you see what I mean.”

R.Kapp “Real-Time Fetus: the Role of a Sonogram in the age of Modern Reproduction” in G.Downey , J. Dumit , and S. Traweek , editors “Cyborgs and Citadels : anthropological interventions into Techo–humanism ” (SAR: University of Washington press, 1995)

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A pro-choice author had this observation to make about genetic testing and abortion of handicapped babies:

“Genetic screening is feeding the public perception of disability as a medical problem and a maternal responsibility, rather than as a matter of equality and justice requiring social and political change.”

Janet Hadley “Abortion: between Freedom and Necessity” (Great Britain: Virago Press) 1996 page 124
 

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When abortion was being discussed in Great Britain as a solution to the problem of children being born with birth defects after many pregnant women took the drug thalidomide, three disabled people wrote to the London Daily Telegraph. They were Elaine Duckett, who had useless hands and arms, Glynn Verdon, who could not use his legs, and Caryl Hodges, who had use of neither arms nor legs. They said:

“We were fortunate in having been allowed to live and we want to say with strong conviction how thankful we are that none took it upon themselves to destroy us as helpless cripples. We have found worthwhile and happy lives and we face our future with confidence. Despite our disability, life still has much to offer and we are more than anxious, if only metaphorically, to reach out toward the future. This, we hope, will give hope to parents of the thalidomide babies, and at the same time serve to condemn those who would contemplate the destruction of a limbless baby.”

Quoted in John Jefferson Davis “Abortion” (Chapter 6) Evangelical Ethics, Phillipsberg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1985. p 156-157. Also quoted in John Ankerberg “When Does Life Begin?”

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A woman called Dr. Laura’s show and told the story of her abortion. She had aborted her baby after tests showed the child had Down’s Syndrome. Shortly afterwards, two people wrote in to respond to her comments. Here are their letters.

“Dr. Laura,

Today, the 28th of March I was listening to talk to one of your callers. She recently had terminated the life of her child in her 20th week of pregnancy and I believe the child’s 20th week of life.

The child’s life was ended when it was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. This really struck a nerve and infuriated me, as I and my wife have the honor of being parents to our 22 month son, Conner, with Down Syndrome that along with our other 2 children (a daughter 8 and a son 5) the joy and light of our life. This person that ended the child’s life has no idea of the joy or divine love that these special people possess. It is hard for me to understand the callousness that she had about thinking that the child was a mistake of nature and it was okay to terminate its life. I would almost dare say that it is our limited understanding of these special people that is the problem.

I have often looked into Conner’s eyes and have felt a true divine, Godlike love shining forth. I will be honest and say that our life has not been changed by Conner. Unlike our other two children that walked before they were one and talked by two and developed in what we understand as “normal”. Conner has yet to walk on his own, but he does possess the ability to brighten the darkest days we have faced.

I would hate to think of life without Conner, he is the light in our families lives. Our other children think the world of him and I feel are gaining a greater understanding and acceptance of “ALL” people, unlike the caller today. She has missed a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow.

Also, Dr. Laura, from what we are told that the DS tests, that are performed when the children are still in the womb, are not that reliable. We know of several people who had those tests and they came back positive and had they chooses to end that life, they would have been out one of their children.

Thanks for letting me vent and now I feel better, keep up the good work. And yes, my wonderful wife is our kids MOM and I am my kids DAD!!!!

Zan N.”

The second letter:

“Dear Dr. Laura,

….I had to respond to a call I heard today that was from a woman who justified killing her 20 week old fetus because they found out that the baby had down syndrome. She felt it was more humane to kill her child than to allow the child to experience life with Down Syndrome.

I am sad she feels that way. I have a 10 year old daughter who has a severe seizure disorder that causes her to have between 8-10 terrible seizures every month. She also has gross and fine motor delays, mild mental retardation, speech delays and low muscle tone throughout her body.

I admit it is a lot of work to take care of and raise my daughter, but when I look at her do I see a sad, depressed child who wished she were never born? No way! I see a beautiful, brave, happy, strong, wonderful child who brings happiness to every life she touches. I see a courageous child who wants to learn as much as she can and sees the world in such a wonderful and peaceful light. She is not concerned with the problems of the world, the worries of the day, the way her hair looks or the way she’s dressed. She isn’t counting her friends or what she has or doesn’t have. She is busy making the people around her laugh. Looking forward to seeing her grandpa and spending their special time together on Friday. Feeling proud that she is learning to stand on 1 foot and the progress she is making! So much innocence in the way she sees the world. I wish I could be more like her.

I gave her the right to life, but she has given so much more to me! She has taught me how to be strong, how to laugh, how to stand up for her rights! How to teach other children acceptance! How to celebrate the smallest of successes! How to reach out to others who learn and grow differently than myself. She has given me more than I can write in just one letter.

How sad for that lady that she will never have what I have. The chance to hug and love one of God’s most precious children! The chance to mold and guide one of God’s special angels. I am fortunate to have ALL my children in my life. But I feel especially blessed and honored that God entrusted ME with one of his most delicate and precious creations! In return, I promise to do my best to give her the best and happiest life that I possibly can, as long as I am lucky to have her in my life! Keep up the great work!

Susan C.
California

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C. Everett Koop, the former US Surgeon General, was one of the leading pediatric surgeon specializing in correcting birth defects and an opponent of legal abortion. He says:

“Yet, I have a sense of satisfaction in my career, best indicated perhaps by the fact that no family has ever come to me and said: “Why did you work so hard to save the life of my child?” And no grown child has ever come back ask me why, either.”

Ronald Reagan “Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation” (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1984) P. 55 Quoted in John Ankerberg and John Weldon “When Does Life Begin? And 39 Other Tough Questions About Abortion” (Brentwood TN: Wolgemuth and Hyatt Publishers, 1989)

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In 1973, Newsweek presented an article entitled “Should This Child Die?” which told the story of two doctors (Raymond S. Duff and A.G.M. Campbell who worked at the Yale-New Haven Hospital. These men were convincing parents to allow their handicapped infants to die by withholding medical care from them. They defended their actions, claiming that the children had “little or no hope of achieving meaningful humanhood” and termed them “vegetables.”

In December 1973, a disabled woman named Sondra Diamond wrote a letter in response to the article. She stated:

“I’ll wager my entire root system and as much fertilizer as it would take to fill Yale University that you have never received a letter from a vegetable before this one, but much as I resent the term, I must confess that I fit the description of a “vegetable” defined in the article “Shall This Child Die?”

Due to severe brain damage incurred at birth, I am unable to dress myself, toilet myself, or write; my secretary is typing this letter. Many thousands of dollars had to be spent on my rehabilitation and education in order for me to reach my present professional status as a counseling psychologist. My parents were also told, 35 years ago, that there was “little or no hope of achieving meaningful humanhood” for their daughter. Have I reached “humanhood”? Compared with Drs. Duff and Campbell I believe I have surpassed it!”

Quoted in Jean Staker Garton “Who Broke the Baby: What the Abortion Slogans Really Mean” (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers) 1979 pg 80

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A young handicapped woman named Carla Egan discussed her feelings on abortion in a newsletter from American Life League.

“Productive members of society like me are killed every day, before they are given the chances that I have been given…I graduated from college and excelled in my studies. I am employed in my field. But I was born with a bone condition…I have a type of dwarfism. Although I stand only four feet tall, I lead a normal life. I ride a bike, I swim, I work, I play…There are thousands of people like me who have been denied the chance to try because society didn’t feel like looking at them….People are aborted every day because society doesn’t feel like dealing with Down’s Syndrome, Spina Bifida, or other abnormalities. We have to take chances on people with disabilities, to learn from them, to have fun with them. We have to stop flushing them down the toilet.”

“Life for the Disabled” Celebrate Life, publication of American Life League, Oct 1991

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