A report in the Taipei Times last week revealed that prenatal testing has significantly reduced the number of babies born alive with Down syndrome in Taiwan. While 70 percent of pregnancies positive for Down syndrome resulted in live births in 1994, just 6 percent did in 2010.
The shocking statistical breakdown: 96 percent of all pregnancies with Down syndrome are ending in abortion in Taiwan, as noted by Mark Leach, a Louisville, Kentucky attorney who blogs at Down Syndrome Prenatal Testing and dad to a daughter with DS.
The key reason behind the trend, experts say, is the growing number of women getting prenatal testing, as endorsed by the Taiwan Society of Perinatology.
This news should have a lot of people questioning the ethics of eliminating an entire population of people, which is basically where Taiwan is headed. It sounds like something in a futuristic movie, the breeding of a race free of the differences—the awesome differences—that kids with DS and other special needs bring to the world.
It’s not always possible for people to understand just how amazing having a child with special needs is…until they have one. Taiwan’s been urging women to undergo prenatal testing but it needs a whole other campaign that would benefit its population: one that would raise awareness about the wonders of children with Down syndrome.
Use our Ovulation Calculator to find out when you’re most likely to get pregnant. Then, use our Baby Charts and Checklists to keep all your little one’s information organized.
Photo of newborn with Down syndrome in blanket via Shutterstock
From my other blog:
Does this child with special needs seem exploited to you?