Brownback: Disability does not have to be a death sentence for unborn babies
Bill would provide clearinghouse of parents willing to adopt children with disabilities
12:49 p.m. Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Washington DC — Imagine trying to have a baby for eight years. Then after dreaming and planning for nearly a decade, you find out your baby has Down Syndrome.
"I immediately started thinking that there were all these things that she wasn't going to be able to do. She would never appreciate an art gallery, she would never take a vacation with us, she would never go to school, she would never want to borrow my clothes," said Rebeca Benson-Bates, whose child has Down Syndrome. "I just had all of these strange thoughts that she would never be able to do anything."
Benson-Bates and her husband never considered aborting their daughter Samantha.
But as more obstetricians and gynecologists offer prenatal genetic testing, more parents opt for abortions.
That's why Senators Sam Brownback and Ted Kennedy are co-sponsoring a bill that would provide these parents with more resources and support.
"This bill provides for the establishment of a resource telephone hotline and Web site, expansion of the leading information clearing house on disability, establishment of a national registry of parents willing to adopt children with these disabilities," Brownback said.
1-year-old Samantha shares her birthday with another Virginia baby with Down Syndrome. His name is Michael.
"I think like a lot of parents we grieved over the fact that he was born with Down Syndrome. We just didn't know what to expect," said Michael's mother Michelle Ray.
The families met at a local Down Syndrome association picnic and shared their doubts and their dreams.
"Before we got pregnant, when we had talked about having children, he said she would be the star player on the England soccer team. When we found out she had Down Syndrome, he said, 'that's okay. She'll be the star player on the special Olympics team," Benson-Bates said.
And teamwork is helping both families look forward to a brighter future.
Comments
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Aug. 8, 2007 at 9:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)parkay (anonymous)
You can't trust Kennedy, Sam. At best, Kennedy will try to funnel taxpayer money into Planned Parenthood, America's busiest abortionist. At worst - he will opt for federally-funded mandatory execution of disabled babies in abortion mills - saving on health care at the expense of mangled, dismembered, poisoned, and beheaded babies.
All are created in God's image, but none are created perfect.
There are no unwanted babies.
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