Dr. Andre Lalonde, executive vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), told the Globe and Mail yesterday, "Palin's decision to keep her baby, knowing he would be born with the condition, may inadvertently influence other women who may lack the necessary emotional and financial support to do the same."
"The worry is that this will have an implication for abortion issues in Canada," he said.
Under the facade of "freedom to choose", Lalonde said that "popular messages" about women like Palin, who choose not to kill their unborn children, "could have detrimental effects on women and their families."
"We offer the woman the choice. We try to be as unbiased as possible," Lalonde said. "We're coming down to a moral decision and we all know moral decisions are personal decisions."
Though Lalonde said that "the country's medical professionals don't emphasize the burden of Down syndrome to pregnant women," and that "giving women balanced information about the potential consequences of either decision does not mean they are being encouraged to abort their pregnancies", statistics reveal that 80-90% of Canadian children with Down syndrome are aborted.
Krista Flint, executive director of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, said, "Many of the country's medical professionals only give messages of fear to parents who learn their baby will be born with the genetic condition."
"It's very dark," she said in the Globe and Mail report. "They hear a lot about the medical conditions that are sometimes associated with Down syndrome. They hear about the burden . . . it places on children and a marriage."
"They hear about things like shortened life expectancy. They hear a lot about the challenges of a life with Down syndrome. That's why Mrs. Palin has become an example that could possibly stem the tide of families who abort fetuses after a positive determination for Down syndrome," Ms. Flint said.
"We know overwhelmingly the message families get is 'Don't have this baby, it will ruin your life,' and I don't think people would look at Sarah Palin and see a ruined life," Ms. Flint said. "Regardless of politics, I think it's a good example."
The rest.
UPDATE: Kathryn Jean Lopez at The Corner:
Responding to a Corner post yesterday, a reader has a challenge for a Palin-friendly cosmetics company: Come up with a cool custom color — Pitbull Pink? — and donate the proceeds to benefit families who've welcomed children with Down Syndrome into the world.
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2 comments:
A couple of months ago, the right-wing in this country was singing the praises of the National Enquirer for reporting details of John Edwards' affair.
This little game of "Gotcha!" served several purposes. It allowed the echo chamber to allege that the dreaded "liberal media" was ignoring and/or covering up the Edwards saga, it was like a chew-toy for the rabid dogs who hated Edwards all along, and it succeeded in blunting the message of an effective, populist Democratic voice just prior to their convention.
The right-wing loved it, and they lauded the Enquirer from sea to garbage-strewn sea.
Let's see what they will think of this:
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/_palin_family_shockers_what_sarahs_really_hiding/celebrity/65407
JR -
My first point is pretty complicated - so pay attention. John Edwards was a candidate - Track and Bristol Palin are not. (As for Sarah Palin's supposed affair - time to move on...)
I can honestly say that I have never purchased, nor even read, a copy of the National Enquirer. So you won't find me running to the news stand today. However, the hour is early, yet the New York Daily News has already debunked the vandal-and-forced-to-join-the-military part. As for the rest of the unsubstantiated claims about the Palin teens, I'll quote the great BO himself:
Jake Tapper: Governor Palin and her husband issued a statement today saying that their 17 year old daughter Bristol who is unmarried is 5 months pregnant. Do you have a comment?
BO: I have heard some of the news on this and so let me be as clear as possible. I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits, and people's children are especially off limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics, it has no relevance to governor Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18. And how family deals with issues and teenage children that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that is off limits. [source]
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