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[akashasheiress]

How do I go about arguing with people who are against fetal tests determining things like Down's Syndrome because they feel that this is an attempt at ''eradicating'' people with such conditions? I, personally, think that women who want such prenatal tests should get them, and should be allowed to make their decision from there. However, the people

Comments

[res_urrected]

I agree with everything that's been said here. I got into it on facebook the other day over the "wrongful birth" lawsuit issue. I am disabled and have a disabled daughter, and if anyone knows I know how much more resources it takes to raise and care for children (and, later, possibly adults) with special needs. If the parent or parents are not up for that then they should not be pressured to continue the pregnancy. Neither, then, should they be pressured to end a viable pregnancy because of a disability because disabled lives are NOT automatically lesser than able-bodlied/minded lives. Ultimately, though, a fetus is NOT a person, disabled or no, and the mother should have the right to decide to continue or terminate a pregnancy regardless of her reasoning. When we start restricting choice we also start to take the choice away.

[akashasheiress]

''Ultimately, though, a fetus is NOT a person, disabled or no, and the mother should have the right to decide to continue or terminate a pregnancy regardless of her reasoning. When we start restricting choice we also start to take the choice away.''

This right here is what I've been looking for. Thank you!

[eyelid]

I would go a bit further - it doesn't matter if a fetus is a "person" or not (obviously, lifers will argue that it is.) The woman has the right to decide who uses her body; if she says no, the answer is no, whether the user is a born human or a fetus.

[scorpi084]

God, i am tired of stupid people talking about prenatal tests. Anti-choicers love to talk about people with Downs syndrome like they are goddamn pets or something for them to use as poster children for disabilities. It's so fucking irritating. There are other things that can be wrong with a fetus that are not as cuddly as a person with Downs syndrome. Also, it is so fucking patronizing to those people. Like, hey, we're going to use your life, which we know next-to-nothing about, as proof that all disabled people have lives that are filled with sunshine and rainbows, and gee, isn't it so awesome that all these disabled people are around to inspire us and make us feel better about ourselves?

That said, if these people are claiming that something happens, they should be able to back it the fuck up. If they can't, then it's pretty clear that they're just parroting the bullshit they've hear other morons tell them.

[eyelid]

owever, the people I'm discussing this with claim that women who have these tests are inevitably pressured to have abortions, r

LOL, that's pretty rich, considering that these people's "solution" is to deny the woman a choice entirely.

Let's be real. Women aren't "pressured" to have abortions when the baby is Down's. They just don't want to have a Down's baby.

And neither do most of these pious jerks you're talking to. If they're so keen to celebrate Down's children, maybe they should adopt some or have their own, instead of forcing women who don't want Down's babies to have them.

It's a silly argument, though, because realistically there is no political will to ban these tests - again, because the vast majority of women (including, secretly, pro-lifers) want to make sure they don't have Down's children either.

[stratyllis]

It's a silly argument, though, because realistically there is no political will to ban these tests

Guess again, there is a bill in Missouri that will let doctors opt out of telling women about things like down's syndrome if they think that she will have an abortion as a result. It will also allow them to not tell them if their life is endangered by the pregnancy.

[eyelid]

False cognate. That is quite different from banning the procedure.

That is already the law in MN, and that's awful, but it's a far cry from banning fetal testing. (It's rarely an issue, because in practice doctors are normally more honorable and moral than to lie to their patients.)

[evilcresyluna]

Because being forced to have ANY kid because of not being permitted to access a test to determine whether they have a very serious health problem (Downs is not just mental retardation; heart defects are another serious complication, and high correlations of childhood cancers such as leukemia) is just stupid. If someone wants to continue a Downs pregnancy they should be able choose to do so knowing full well what to expect, not just because someone completely unconnected decided it would hurt THEIR feelings if they had an abortion. Fuck, don't they realize forbidding women to access these tests is pressuring them to continue Downs pregnancies? Not that trying to keep Downs pregnancies a SURPRISE until birth is going to make it any easier to raise a child with Downs or be a person with Downs in society

[akashasheiress]

Thank you! So many awesome answers to this post! Yeah, I think that it basically comes down to not trusting women to make the decision that's best for them.