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Saturday, September 02, 2006

The Imperfect Among Us and the Right to Choose

Pregnant women take tests to determine whether their babies are "healthy", the definition of which excludes those children who may have Down's Syndrome, Spina Biffeda, or other disorders. Those "doctors" who order the tests often "encourage" women to "terminate" the pregnancies which might not result in the perfect child!

In other words...they encourage abortion, the murder of an unborn child, based upon inexact science and their own terrible perferences enforced upon...everyone.

Speaking as the daughter of a man who suffered from Spina Biffeda, speaking also as a daughter of a woman who was born without a left hand...I just say BULLSHIT!

I don't often use bad language on my blog, but sometimes one has to call it what it is.

My mother was once told that she could not have children, then defied the doctors and proceeded to have two of us. While she was pregnant with me, shortly after the passage of Roe v.Wade, people approached her in the grocery store, or wherever she happened to be, and tell her that "people like you should not be allowed to have children." In defiance of the culture, in defiance of rude, misguided souls in various locales, she gave birth to me. Abortion was never an option.

Thank you, Mom.

Had my Grandparents shared the idea with various "doctors" that "imperfect" children should not exist, both of my parents would have been murdered in utero, thus, I would not exist to share their story or mine.

I then have to ask any of you who support "a right to choose", who might come across this...if your parents have some sort of "disability", would you prefer that they had not been born? What if your father had an arm which was shriveled and bent inward as a result of a neurological disorder? What if your mother was born without legs? Would you go back in time in order to dispose of them to rid the world of their disabilities, thus removing yourself from existance?

If you do not believe this is proper, how, then, could you say it is OK for another person to kill their child, the potential parent of a child just like yourself? How is is right for you to will a generation of children out of existance, just by virtue of the fact a certain unjust law did not exist at the time that your parents were given life?

When I was in elementary school, I met a girl a grade below me who was born with Cerebral Palsy...her name was Sara. Sara had to wear braces on her legs. She was sweet, she was pretty, she was joyful...and she was loved by everyone who met her. Why? Because her disablity was not a disability for her. It was an annoyance, but she did not let it get in her way. We always knew when she was coming due to the sound made by her braces and halting footsteps, but somehow, her smile always preceeded her actual presence.

I remember the day she lurched up to us, smiling as always, and announced that finally, the braces were coming off!

They did come off, and afterwards, her "disability" was not noticed, although she did have to continue much physical therapy, likely for life.

I'm sure that was a hardship for her family...the time, the cost..the imperfectness of their little girl. What a disappointment.

After reading that, can any of you say that they should have aborted Sara? After all, her parents had the right to "choose". By the definition of some, Sara should never have seen the light of day...she should have been shredded in the womb and sucked out through a tube and washed down a drain.

We never should have seen Sara's smile, we never should have heard her footsteps or her joyful announcement.

I have to ask..is there really a choice? We do not know what is going to happen. My grandparents did not know that my mother would be imperfect and in reality, they did not care. My other grandparents did not know that my dad would suffer a severe genetic disorder...and they didn't care. They couldn't afford his surgeries and he never walked normally...and they loved him just the same.

We are all imperfect in some way. Some of the most debilitating illnesses are not visible prior to birth, or after birth, but only appear years and years later...like schizophrenia, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and a slew of others.

Life is not about genetic testing and eugenics...it's about life. Pure and simple. If a child is conceived, that child is meant for this world, and that child is a son or daughter of God. The scientific testing that takes place these days does not much to encourage life, but rather, acts to discorage anything that MIGHT appear to be less than perfect. Yet the tests are not accurate, and do nothing but play on the paranoia of people who have not been properly educated.

If you are considering an abortion, then consider your own parents..if they had been tested as "imperfect", would you prefer not to exist, or do you think that maybe you've had something to offer the world? Doesn't your child then, as well?

The only "imperfect" thing about children surrounds those who believe in a "choice" to kill them before they have the opportunity to prove their worth. What kind of choice is that?

6 comments:

Unknown said...

My mother had a "double first cousin." Their mothers were sisters and their fathers were brothers. The "double cousin" had six children, two of whom died very young. It turns out that there was a rare blood incompatibility between the cousin and her husband.

But they continued to have other children. One became a school superintendent and is now doing volunteer work with his wife in Thailand. Another became a law librarian in Detroit at a prominent university.

A third was born mentally retarded. He is now in his 50s and has held a full time job in the kitchen of one jof his city's finest restaurants, cleaning and washing for 30 years, thank to the training he received from the Opportunity Workship of the Goodwill there. He takes the bus to and from work by himself, has his own bank account to buy presents for his family and is an absolute joy to work with and be with. Occasionally the restaurant has put one of his suggestions for a favorite dish on their lunch menu.

What the world would have missed if my Mom's cousin had known about her blood problem and had decided not to have children!

Anonymous said...

One thing I have learned from those that are not "perfect" is just how UNperfect I am. We learn much more from those with challenges to overcome than they learn from us.

Good post Adoro - thanks for putting that into words.

Anonymous said...

....imperfect or unperfect? Anyway, you get what I mean.

Anonymous said...

"I" before "E" except after "C"

receive
conceive

Adoro said...

Anon,

Thank you, I have edited the post and even changed some of the sentence structuring. Did you catch any of my other typos--there were several.

Might I make a suggestion, as you and I actually share the same pet peeve?

Whenever my irritation level rises to the point that I must make a comment to the blog author (always taking into consideration the reason for the blog), I just send a personal e-mail versus leaving comments in the com boxes. I find that I've made my point, assisted the author, and if the author does not take my advice I just learn to put up with it (again, taking into consideration the reason for the blog.

So far this has worked very well although I've notices that even the very best bloggers sometimes let a few errors escape. That happens and will likely continue to happen here, as well. Yes, it annoys me when that happens but I don't always have time to go back and edit everything at random. Other bloggers don't, either.

I used to do many reviews on a writing website and helped authors catch their spelling/grammar mistakes. Often they were simply the results of hurried fingers. When I went back to review my own work and edit, I often found the same errors in my work that I so easily found in another's.

That actually helped me to overcome my scrupulous irritation at other's errors...finding the same problem in my own. But admittedly, that irritation is still there and like you, sometimes I need to speak up.

I do appreciate your concern and from one scrupulous reader to another...thank you!


Whenever I get to the point

Adoro said...

Oops...I just realized I hadn't finished my previous post, but I'm going to let you all just hang on that unfinished sentence. :-)