Shortly after our son Noah surprised us by being born with Down syndrome, we were shocked to learn that 80-92% (depending on which study you read) of children known to have Down syndrome were aborted. There are a variety of reasons people give as to why they choose to abort their child, however I believe a major reason is an abundance of inaccurate information about what it’s like to have a child with Down syndrome.
Parents are told their child will never smile, never laugh (yah, right), will sit around and drool on themselves all day, etc; so it would be “better” to simply terminate the “fetus” and try again. In fact, the first words out of my wife’s OBGYN when Noah was born was not congratulations, it was “I’m so sorry.”
I’ll never forget that day, and that comment.
As a Christian I can’t sit back and do nothing while so many children are being killed simply because they have a 3rd copy of their 21st chromosome. My hope is that as Noah’s Dad, I can help show the world what children with Down syndrome are really like by promoting as many true and accurate stories as I can. By teaching them what the characteristics of Down syndrome really are. And by showing our culture how worthy of life these children are.
Since October is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month I have created a “Wall of Awesome” where people can read and share stories of people living with Down syndrome. The Wall of Awesome is a celebration of life, and I encourage you to check it out for yourself, then share it with as many people as you can.
Together we can help replace false stereotypes, with true stories. Stories that show the world all life is valuable.
By the way, we are also getting ready to show the world even more stories of life on World Down Syndrome Day, so stay tuned!
LifeNews Note: Rick Smith is Noah’s Dad and he’s creating an online story about his son who was born with Down syndrome on his blog. In addition he manages Noah’s Dad’s Facebook community, and Noah’s Dad Twitter stream; and enjoys using social media to show the world that children born with Down syndrome are worthy of life.
