“Human life is sacred to God." ~ Proverbs
6:17
Dr. Rachel Cooper, Head of
Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, stepped to the lectern to address her
colleagues about prenatal disability screenings used for abortions. At 47, her remarks would be based on very
personal experiences a decade earlier.
“It’s the news every expectant mother dreads: their baby faces a life
of disability,” she began. “A routine scan had changed everything. The
doctor reread the DNA blood test before facing me. I cringed as he stated somberly: “I’m sorry, but your baby has Downs Syndrome.”
“Later, head in hands at our kitchen table, I wept at the horrible
dilemma my husband and I suddenly faced: a choice no parent should ever have to
make. As an adult, I felt a woman should
have the right to terminate a pregnancy - but that was an opinion framed by rational
thought, not personal experience.
I tried to shake away images of a little boy, lonely and friendless,
robbed of the most basic human functions. I pictured him clumsy and frustrated, as his
sisters turned cartwheels in the living room.
The prospect of watching him made me sick. I hugged my stomach, as if I could in some way
shield him from the misery that lay ahead.
A close friend has a son, Robert, with cerebral palsy. Robert, now 7, spent months in the neo-natal
intensive care following his birth, and has undergone several orthopedic and heart
surgeries. He’s still not potty-trained
and needs help with many normal body functions like eating dressing, and bathing. My friend explained that our child’s handicap
could prove unbearable for all concerned, especially our son.
Her advice resonated with me in a powerful, almost absolving way. I couldn’t bring this child into the world,
knowing the suffering he would endure. Her
words somehow gave me permission to consider termination.”
She continued her speech for another 17 minutes before
ending to a stirring ovation. As the
crowd headed for the exits, a small boy with Down’s Syndrome approached Dr. Cooper. “I just want you to know Mommy, that I really
love people like you who love people like me."
She’d aborted her abortion plans.
The pressure to abort handicapped babies is built on the
mere "likelihood" that a child has some kind of disability. Often, the tests prove wrong, and more often
still, these children, if allowed to live, end up with lives of joy and
happiness that far exceeds those of their "more healthy" peers.
Suffering and hardship are not bad things. They are means to
a greater end, a crucial part of the human journey. It is not for us to decide who has a life
worth living and who doesn't; I certainly don’t want someone else making that
decision for me!
We were created in Your image Lord. But yet,
in today’s world, we seem to think that we can selectively place our own values
on life and in turn, eliminate births in certain circumstances. Please forgive us! Amen
