At first, when I read it on Facebook, I couldn’t believe it. Twins were born in Arkansas and one of them has Down syndrome. Before they were born, the twins had been planned for adoption, but apparently, the parents wants perfect children, so they rejected the baby with Down syndrome and now the child sits in the hospital with a Do Not Resuscitate order on it! Sick!
I remember a TV show called Quincy in the 1980′s that had an episode in which parents rejected a baby with Down syndrome and the doctor ordered a DNR. As they withheld FOOD from the baby, and it died (ok, it was TV), a nurse got upset, the law was called in and the doctor was charge with a crime. Way to go Quincy!
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised:
DOWN SYNDROME AND ABORTION
By Susan W. Enouen, PE
If current trends continue, it may eventually become “unacceptable” for parents to continue a pregnancy knowing that their baby has Down syndrome. Recent US studies have indicated that when Down syndrome is diagnosed prenatally, 84% to 91% of those babies will be killed by abortion.1,2,3,4 This trend is not isolated to the United States. In England, a 2004 study showed that 94% of babies who were diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome were subsequently aborted.5 When all Down syndrome babies are considered – those diagnosed prenatally as well as those only diagnosed with DS after birth – studies show that 26% to 37% of these tiny lives will be ended by abortion. (Physicians for Life)
These are called soft-diagnoses and they are done by ultra-sound. Many of these babies are found out later to not have Down syndrome. Our culture promotes the perfect baby as well as the most convenient timing through abortion.
According to bloggers, the Down syndrome Adoption Agency has been notified and there are families willing to take this baby. There are several DS activists who are calling on us to help by sending letters to the Governor of Arkansas and to the hospital. This is taken from another blog called The Waksmunski Family:
Please write Gov Beebe of Arkansas
I am encouraging everyone to write Governor Beebe at http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact/index.php. Please include in your letter that this baby boy is in Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Also include that fact there is a DNR that was placed by the adoption agency and that a DS adoption network has already identified multiple families that are willing to adopt this child. In the interim while adoption issues are worked out, this child needs a guardian ad litem appointed to protect him.Any letter to the governor should also be cc’d to the hospital personnel below. This should get the hospital’s attention immediately that a full scale blitz may be coming their way so the baby will receive ULTIMATE great care at that point, right? The hospital main line and they said to send emails to info@archildrens.org but list out the recipient’s names in body of email.
Jonathan R. (Jon) Bates
President, CEO, and Director
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Dan McFadden
Director of Communications
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
How sad that people are still that ignorant about people with Down syndrome! When I gave birth to Becky 20 years ago, one of my first thoughts was… well, I guess I won’t be dealing with drugs, alcohol, boys, etc. I thought that would be a perfect child! Of course, I realize that is not completely true, but when I look at some of the issues that my friends deal with in their kids, and the issues I deal with… well, no one has the perfect kid!
I feel sorry for the twin who went home with people who want a perfect child. What kind of parents will they be? Little do they know, they left the perfect one at the hospital. I could go on…