Children with Down Syndrome: Will Culture Make Them Disappear?
For the Christian community, John's story about the healing of a man born blind is particularly meaningful:
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "This happened so the power of God could be seen in him." (John 9:1–4, NLT; emphasis mine.)
God's glory is manifested in weakness and imperfection, for he is truly the God of the sick and desperate among us. His power is made perfect in all of our disabilities (2 Cor. 12:9).
It should also be said that children born with imperfections don't surprise God. Scripture tells us he sees us in the womb, imparts wisdom to us in the womb, and knows every hair on our head. With that in mind, we can confidently say that mental, emotional, and physical disabilities don't define our worth. We are all equal in God's eyes, and all of infinite worth. A man or woman who belongs to Christ is his beloved child with a preciousness no man can extinguish.
"Right to life" includes all of human existence, from the preborn to the elderly and infirm, and to every stage and experience in between. I am not given to hostility, acrimony, or argumentativeness where it concerns the sanctity of life. I believe those who advocate for abortion are of infinite worth to God. Lately, however, I have to fight off greater feelings of paranoia as I watch where our society is heading. Are we increasingly embracing a culture of death? Is eugenics creeping in with a vengeance?
With advances in genetic testing and the foretelling of the end of Down syndrome, I have to wonder who's next. If a test can reveal future childhood diabetes or cancer, blindness, deafness, a propensity toward violence, and even ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) later in life, will couples choose abortion? What possible disability or disorder will be eradicated next? What will we as a society become as we strive to avoid suffering and hardship, and raise cultural expectations of normal? And if we see the preborn as just a mass of cells dividing and re-dividing, instead of as a real child with a soul, where will this path lead us?
Even as I fear the answers to these questions and fight for the right of these individuals to a life of dignity, I acknowledge a great God who has the power to change hearts and minds. And when an individual with Down syndrome crosses my path, I will never see it as anything less than a reminder of what is good and holy.
Kelly Rosati is vice president of community outreach and sanctity of human life for Focus on the Family.
Copyright © 2012 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
See a related piece on ministries for those with Down syndrome.
Previous articles on children include:
My Perfect Child | What God taught me through my daughter's disability. (November 30, 2011)
A Christian Response to Overpopulation| We can continue to affirm life while acknowledging that unrestricted population growth can put women and children at risk. (May 25, 2011)
Be Fruitful and Multiply?| Observers weigh in on whether Christians have a special responsibility to have children. (July 26, 2010)
Her.meneutics has also covered disability in several articles.
Grieving with the Good Friday God
La complejidad hispana: Todo cambió en el 2012
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Nicki Liang
I fully agree that children with Downs Syndrome and other similar 'disabilities' have a great deal to offer us but sometimes the practicalities of life take over. In many countries, children will not be covered medically for any congenital diseases and will find it very hard and very expensive to obtain any coverage at all. As a result the parents face an extremely heavy financial burden from the moment they are born. The opportunities offered to them from an educational and employment perspective are limited. Many parents worry about what will happen to their children once they are gone. In an ideal world, there would be opportunities for all but until we reach that point, my heart goes out to parents forced to make decisions about babies who they know will be born with some kind of a problem. I dreaded it each time I was pregnant as I would have found it very hard to abort my own child but could my family have survived the stress of bringing a disabled child into the world?
Kathleen Kexel
(cont) Again, unlike Down's because physical markers are few, many do not recognize a person with Fragile X (and that is why quite a few end up in prison...because their limited mental ability is discounted). My fear is that society may be even more pre-emptive in eliminating Fragile X than it already is in attacking Down Syndrome. Because Fragile X is hereditary and it is possible to test a female for the presence of the damaged gene before she becomes pregnant, I fear that insurance companies or the government, in families that have proven to have Fragile X individuals, may one day dictate whether or not a woman who carries the damaged gene may even be allowed to have children. Children, who in our family's case have grown into precious individuals we deeply love. So while I welcome a "World Down Syndrome Day," I wish there were a day to recognize the value of all who have developmental disabilities. I am blessed to attend a church that extends open arms to my brother and uncle
Kathleen Kexel
A developmental disability even more commonplace than Down Syndrome is Fragile X Syndrome. It is a form of mental retardation with aspects of autism and often exhibiting a savant manifestation. Unlike Down Syndrome which is random, Fragile X is hereditary and affects mostly males. We have 5 generations of it in my family and I am legal guardian for my uncle and brother who have the disability. Like Down Syndrome, there are differing levels of disability. In my family, the average seems to be an 8th grade reading level, a 1st grade math ability and varying degrees of social and situational comprehension. Those at the highest level lead almost independent lives, with a social worker managing finances, but capable of holding a job and keeping up their own home. Unlike Down's there are few physical characteristics, especially when young. More show up past middle age. Genetic testing for Fragile X runs about $1000 and is not usually covered by insurance.