The mother of a girl with Down’s syndrome has shared how a doctor immediately offered her an abortion after discovering that the child had the condition.
In a blog post for US pro-life charity Save The Storks, Karen Crawford said she was “absolutely shocked” by the doctor’s recommendation.
She responded by explaining that she was “carrying a precious baby” and would “never” consider an abortion.
Choose life
Karen’s decision to choose life for her child was a pleasant surprise for those in the pregnancy centre.
“At my next appointment, my midwife was in tears telling me that, ‘No one ever keeps the babies with Downs.'”
“Many nurses told me how happy they were that we were keeping the baby”, she added.
‘Brightness’
Karen went on to give birth to her daughter Myla and said that she hopes her daughter’s life “helps raise awareness about Down’s syndrome so others might see that termination isn’t the answer”.
“We need to bring awareness to things like Down’s syndrome so people won’t be so afraid of it.”
She added that Myla “brings a brightness to our lives that I can’t even imagine having to live without”.
Eradication
Last month, a man with the condition told US politicians that his life is “worth living” as he hit out at those who are trying to eradicate Down’s babies in the womb.
Frank Stephens told a congressional committee that he should not have to justify his existence, saying: “I am a man with Down’s syndrome and my life is worth living.”
A video of his speech has gone viral and amassed millions of views on social media.
‘Image of God’
In the UK, the Government will make a new blood test available on the NHS from 2018, despite strong opposition.
The technique, known as Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT), is used for screening unborn babies for Down’s syndrome and claims to be 99 per cent accurate.
Ciarán Kelly, Deputy Director for Staff and Communications at The Christian Institute, has said that NIPT “has its roots in the idea that some people’s lives have no value”.
“All human beings are made in the image of God and have a special, intrinsic, value regardless of how young, or how old, able bodied or disabled that life might be”.