ClinicQuotes

Melinda Tankard Reist wrote a book where she shared the stories of women whose babies were diagnosed with health problems. All of the women had their children. Reist says:

“Diversity is upheld as a value, yet great efforts are made to ensure that certain mothers don’t have children, and that certain children are never to be allowed to contribute to this diversity. In this sense, at least, humanity is becoming increasingly homogeneous. Babies born outside a standard view of what is normative are viewed as muddying the gene pool and costing the “normal” citizens of society too much money.”

Melinda Tankard Reist Defiant Birth: Women Who Resist Medical Eugenics (North Melbourne, Australia: Spinifex, 2006) 5

Louise Drinkwater’s daughter Molly has Down syndrome.  Her mother describes why she is grateful she chose life for Molly despite her having Down:

She’s an incredibly happy little girl. She lights up our lives… I’ve been a person who thought academic achievement was really important, and it’s been a beautiful learning experience to realize that value is about the soul of the person. Molly has really helped me to sit back and enjoy the moment rather than racing to get ahead.

J Robotham and D Smith “Love Me or Let Me Go” Sydney Morning Herald, August 31, 2004

“If you prevent the birth of a child with Down’s syndrome you are probably saving the community a million dollars or more in the life of the child.”

Australia geneticist, Prof. Grant Sutherland.  He was past president of The Human Genetics Society of Australia.

“New Down’s Syndrome Test” The Adelaide Advertiser August 6, 1992

There is no test that reveals the presence of Down before conception, so “preventing the birth” means abortion.

Often, women who reject the pressure to abort their disabled children after an amniocentesis shows problems with the baby are not accepted or understood by others in society.

A woman named Sarah D who had two disabled children was berated by a “shocked” and “open mouthed” bystander who said:

“Not one… Not one but two. Don’t you know that kind of thing is preventable now?”

Sam Tormey “Making Perfect Babies” Griffith Review, Winter 2004