All pregnant women in US to be offered Down Syndrom test

[Buttercup]

I can imagine very easily falling into this sequence, more easily than I can imagine anything else.

Institutionalizing kids like this used to be more common here too, Mila. It could be that we have more resources and education now regarding the mentally or physically disabled to be able to keep them at home and with that the stigmas could have been lifted as a result.

 

[Djamila]

Institutionalizing kids like this used to be more common here too, Mila. It could be that we have more resources and education now regarding the mentally or physically disabled to be able to keep them at home and with that the stigmas could have been lifted as a result.

Very good point! I think the resources are more important than general education.

There are many fancy institutions that are staffed by professionals who truly love their patients and knowing that does make me feel happy.

But it's still something that is swept away. These institutions are always in the middle of nowhere - Jagomir, for example, and that's mainly for people who lost their minds during the war:

http://www.jagomir.ba/

The idea of living next door to such an institution, or devoting my life to raising a mentally disabled child, isn't... a good thought... for me. It makes me feel... negatively.

When you read a story about a man who drowned in the river trying to save his beloved dog - that's how I, and I think many, women here feel about mentally disabled children and raising them. "Awww... how sweet! But how stupid? What a waste..."

So it's not a completely... "they're not human"... detachment. But there's no... you know?

Give them a nice bed and keep them out of my sight. That's the sentiment, I think. Education isn't going to change that anytime soon - but better resources can give them a wonderful quality of life.

 

[Buttercup]

So it's not a completely... "they're not human"... detachment. But there's no... you know?

Give them a nice bed and keep them out of my sight. That's the sentiment, I think. Education isn't going to change that anytime soon - but better resources can give them a wonderful quality of life.

I so admire your honesty, Mila. But, I have to say that one thing about your culture that I dislike greatly is the obsession with looks and perfect people. It's kind of shallow and makes me sad. I hope things change eventually.

 

[Djamila]

I so admire your honesty, Mila. But, I have to say that one thing about your culture that I dislike greatly is the obsession with looks and perfect people. It's kind of shallow and makes me sad. I hope things change eventually.

You know, it never really occured to me this was part of that. Maybe it is? I think this came earlier though... but it probably is part of the whole... logic.

 

[Doodlebug02]

I have mixed emotions about this. On the one side it is good so you know if you're child is going to have Down Syndrome or not. On the other side its not so good because if a person finds out their child is going to have Down Syndrome, they're more likely to get an abortion.

 

[Booko]

Ahh, interesting. This is news to me. Still, if I had the test and found out I was carrying a Down's baby, I would continue with the pregnancy. Down's chidren/adults are delightful to be around.

It depends on how severe the syndrome is, Rhonda. My best friend in the church I grew up in had Down's and she's very functional.

otoh, some Down's babies are severely impaired, and even violent.

The people with Down's we see out in public are the ones who have less impairment. You won't see the ones that are really bad off.

It's a very tough choice for any woman to have to make, and every family situation is quite different. I don't envy having to make any such situation (which is why we didn't opt for testing even when it was offered...ignorance is bliss ).

I had the...er...bounty of helping to counsel a family that had to make this decision, though. Honestly, it was stressful enough just having to assemble all the things to consider and find answers to questions so they would have as much information as they could to make a decision. :cover:

 

[Booko]

Basically mentally disabled people, for whom the official term in Bosnia is "invalid", are usually handed over to what are called Invalid Wards. They're like orphanages only a little worse - bars on the windows, no paint, and so on.

That's unfortunate, because many people with Down's are very functional. The girl I grew up with has made her way through life bagging groceries. No, it isn't a high flying job, but she does it well, and it's important and honest work all the same. She's also one of the kindest people I've ever met on this earth.

Society is much better off with her in circulation than stuck away some place.

It wasn't quite this bad before we were occupied by the Nazis in the 1940s, but it was similar.

Yes, I can see where that bit of history might've had some influence that stuck. But as your people look around at how other cultures deal with it, they may see some alternatives they prefer.

 

[Booko]

True, but I mean - you'd think you'd hear about it at least? Since the war, we have a lot of women giving birth to babies without limbs or some such thing - it's caused by the depleted uranium in western weapons. You never see them on the street, you never see a woman holding a deformed baby - but you know about it.

Ah..."dep U" -- one of my favorite military topics that NO ONE here ever talks about. Our military-industrial complex sees to that. Oh well, fodder for another thread.

I'm sure the Iraqis are experiencing the same problems these days. If only we saw those pictures on our teevees, the demand for it to stop would be instant and enormous.

 

[lunamoth]

Ah..."dep U" -- one of my favorite military topics that NO ONE here ever talks about. Our military-industrial complex sees to that. Oh well, fodder for another thread.

I'm sure the Iraqis are experiencing the same problems these days. If only we saw those pictures on our teevees, the demand for it to stop would be instant and enormous.

This is startling and disturbing...do you have more info on this?

 

[Booko]

This is startling and disturbing...do you have more info on this?

Yes, let me start a new thread on it, though. You know, the two of us are such expert derailers. bwa ha ha!

 

[lunamoth]

Yes, let me start a new thread on it, though. You know, the two of us are such expert derailers. bwa ha ha!

Yes, thank you.

*Shhh...I've been trying to be good lately! mwahahahaha*

 

[Booko]

Yes, thank you.

*Shhh...I've been trying to be good lately! mwahahahaha*

Yeah me too...uh...now what was this thread about?

Oh yeah...Down's Syndrome.

I'm so glad they've found a better test than amnio...amnio has some risks associated with it that might as well be avoided.