downs syndrome and our apparant circumstantial morality.
This question was recently asked by a popular television commentator. It's not the 1st time i heard the question. But , for some reason, it has stuck in my head for a couple of weeks now.
It is a given that the abortion debate divides people about 1/2 and 1/2 in this country. One half wants to outlaw abortion or severely restrict it to only life threatening or other extreme circumstances. And the other camp wants little or no restrictions on abortion.
I'm not here to debate that. For the purposes of this article, there is no crime in accepting that both have a legitimate stance.
We know, statistically speaking, that most abortions take place in the 1st 12 weeks. And for this discussion, we are going to leave that alone.
One of the tests that expecting mothers routinely take when pregnant is the test for "downs syndrome." The results of that test are revealed in the 5th or 6th month.
We also know that 90% of the people that test positive for downs syndrome abort the fetus.
Now, I think it's safe to assume that the instances of downs hit each of those camps in fairly equal numbers in the big picture. If someone wants to argue that only liberals who support unfettered abortion get babies with downs syndrome, they can feel free, but I really don't think that's the case.
So, for the rest of us in the real world, we know that 1/2 the people say they are against abortion, want Roe v Wade overturned and a woman's right to choose to be negated. Yet 90% of us abort that mentally deficient fetus. And that those abortions can only take place at best, in the 2nd trimester. Not in the 1st trimester when "viability" and certain "human issues" are more debatable. My father was born almost 4 months premature and my grandmother kept him alive in a homemade "incubator." So, there is no doubt in my mind that in the 5th and 6th month, that fetus can survive outside the womb. And i'm sure the technology has gotten better since 1938, the year my father was born.
So, what does that say about the real feelings of the pro-life uberalles movement? Do these morals only apply when speaking of other people's mentally retarded kids? And what does that say about those beliefs and the adherence to them when the tradgedy hits home?