Wow, how can they do something that is just so wrong?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10689851

A human being shouldn't be entitled to their life because it is too much work for the country and their parents? If we're doing this for downs syndrome, what other conditions will screening become available for as technology progresses? Since when was it ok to decide who is good enough to live and who isn't, and take advantage of the fact that it is legally ok to kill a baby if they are still in their mothers womb? I guess we can't just wait and see if a person has a disability once they are born, as it is too late to murder them for it at that point.

And the message being sent to those with disabilities is pretty much "You aren't worthy of living". I'm sure that this isn't going to end with just downs syndrome. Eventually most conditions will be able to be detected before birth.

If the majority are getting abortions for reasons like this, then the parents that chose not to are going to be looked down upon too =/

People are apathic. Doesn't sound like anything new to me.

I despise the idea of abortion, especially if its due to deformity &etc
sometimes, life's just way too cold

Call me an asshole if you like, but if I was told that me unborn child would have down-syndrom, I wouldn't want it to be born either. And yes, I'm aware of the fact that you can live with Down syndrome, but I really don't want my child to have the problems that come with it.

Isn't that deciding for somebody else though whether or not their life is worth living? They'll never get another chance to experience life and the world.

I never said otherwise. And yes, they will never get another chance of experiencing life. But in my eyes, I'm responsible for creating it, so I should also be allowed to decide what will happen.

Once you've created it though, it's created. Your child is alive. It's a bit late to turn back then.

Do people with Down's Syndrome really hate their lives that much?

It's obviously not too late to turn back if I can abort. (and before I forget to mention, with that I mean in the first four months)

As someone who does not have Down syndrome, I can certainly not answer you that. However, you could just as well ask why someone killed himself when you gave him life knowing fully well that he will be healthy - in the end, his death will be his own decision, but it was your decision to let him live and to allow letting him experience whatever made him take his life.

It's a two-edged sword. It's not a matter if one should or should not be allowed to decide about life and death, there will ALWAYS be negative consequences given the current technological advancement.

But with that thinking, why isn't it too late to kill when they're born?

Hiroshi has a valid point. I personally would not want a child of mine have to go through the burden of living with Down's Syndrome. Even if it eventually doesn't mean anything since there are people with Down's Syndrome who have lead successful lives, surely you of all people would understand that wouldn't you?

These are decisions that when I think about them I quit and hope I never have to make them.

At that point, they can feel. For the first four months, they can't feel or anything.

I agree with Hiroshi. Yeah, it sucks that you have to kill them, but if you don't, you're just making them live a life that probably won't be good. Also, this probably sounds a bit stupid, but it would help make down syndrome more and more rare, because less and less genes with down syndrome are being passed down.

So what determines whether or not a human has a right to live is whether or not they can feel pain?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome#Infertility - They have a lot of trouble passing on their genes

Also, Down's Syndrome is rarely heriditary. The biggest risk factor is actually the age of the mother

And why do you assume that a life with down's syndrome is one that isn't worth living?

And also, this is slightly unrelated, but one of my best friends in highschool had a bunch of disabilities because her mother had some illness (I have forgotten the name) while she was pregnant with her. As a result my friend is nearly blind, has learning disabilities, has coordination problems, one side of her isn't able to do very much (So she walks strangely + has 1 pretty useless arm)... sounds awful? Maybe. HOWEVER, my friend loves life. She goes on special outdoor camps for disabled people all the time + does a lot of other outdoor activities. The outdoors is everything to her. She has an awesome sense of humour. She spends lots of time going to the gym, doing volunteer work, helping people, and trying new things.

What if say somebody had said "She's gonna have a lot of disabilities, her life won't be worth living"?

I support this. Is it more humane for someone to live in suffering, or to die painlessly? If you came across a mortally wounded animal whose life could not be saved, and they had about a day of excruciating pain left in their life, would you kill it? I think it's a similar situation with chronic diseases. If my child is going to be born and they have an incurable chronic disease that will drastically affect their life, I wouldn't want them to suffer through life, I would prefer if they were aborted.

lol that's not the same at all.

That's like saying poor people shouldn't have babies

Yes, but since when are people with Down's Syndrome really suffering?

Is being different a crime?

I have a ton of ADHD and depression (though I'm managing that ok atm =)), and I mentioned my friend too. We're both doing fine, so yeah.

I think that this is more about people not wanting different people in the world and having to look after them.

My mom works with disabled kids and she notices that a lot of them are smarter/ more intelligent than people think they are but because they have some disability people think there retarded.