Poll: Would you abort a pregnancy if the child would have Down Syndrome?

[Red Albatross]

I would MUCH rather be dead than retarded, so I would absolutely abort a child that was determined to have mental defects. No one should have to live like that. No, I don't care about your anecdotal evidence of people with defects being "happy." They don't know any better; they don't know that they're hardly more than animals, and they don't realize how much they ruin the lives of the people that care about them.

 

[lacktheknack]

My sister has a really similar something to Down Syndrome...

...I'd refuse to abort. Down Syndrome patients are some of the most pleasant people alive.

 

[Woodsey]

That would depend on whether I could support them or not, and the severity (I'm assuming there are varying levels of severity that come with it) of it.

I think I'd be more inclined to say yes (for both selfish and merciful reasons), but like I said it can be overturned depending on a number of variables.

The better question is why didn't you stop the mother when she was reaching for the wine bottle?

It's 2 in the morning, so I'm not seeing the connection. Explain?

 

[Arehexes]

I had members in my family with issues like that and i rather not go through it again so yes.

 

[TheTurtleMan]

I would have an abortion no matter how the kid would turn out. I just really don't like kids from about age 0-10 but I would rather a adopt a 12 year old with down syndrome than raise it from birth. Same goes for any kind of kid. Once again I just want to express my deep seeted hate for children.

 

[llafnwod]

I would have an abortion no matter how the kid would turn out. I just really don't like kids from about age 0-10 but I would rather a adopt a 12 year old with down syndrome than raise it from birth. Same goes for any kind of kid. Once again I just want to express my deep seeted hate for children.

That's fantastic, but one of the premises of the question was the you and your partner wanted the child. If you cannot imagine such a scenario, there's no point in responding.

 

[awsome117]

Me and my friends talked about this a little bit (not about this exact topic, but something similar)

If people masturbate, does that count as genocide, as it kills millions of potential babies?

Anyway, on topic, no I wouldn't, but if the mother wanted to, I couldn't stop her.

 

[kikon9]

Fuck that he's my child. Now if it was a chestburster...

Are you bringing up the movie "Aliens" in a serious forum topic?

Yes, yes I am. Especially considering this is a discussion about ending someone's life out of foreknowledge of natural disabilities. The analogy I made was indicating a threat to the mother which may carry severe problems postpartum, both physical and mental. We're not Spartans. Any person in this day and age can find a purpose to function in society and people with Downs are no different.

Honestly I'm quite surprised in a bad way at the majority of the responses casually saying they'd kill their child because of a birth defect. I'd like to imagine how you felt if YOU were in that child's position and your parents made the same decision.

Frankly, the only reason I would say yes to aborting a child for this reason is because a good friend of mine has a brother with down syndrome. I've seen the stress it puts on a family. And quite frankly I doubt I could handle a child. Let alone a child I would have to take extra care of. I have low mental stability as it is. Are you saying I should say no so that the baby can grow up with an angry half insane father. Who would probably snap at some point and seriously harm his child?

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I'm a hate-filled person, and if there's one thing I learned from my family is that one thing that's worse than a kid it's one with a mental disability. I can barely stand my cousin, whom I see around three hours a week, let alone for the rest of my life.

Call me out, but a lot of people have my mind set.

 

[AngryPuppy]

Yes. Absolutely. Without a second thought.

I know it makes me an evil, evil person but I don't even think of Down's sufferers as human. They're...not right. Defective. Little more than pets or playthings like animals. And like I said, I know that makes me an evil, evil person but my revulsion at the sight of them is deeply personal and not something I can deny.

I don't think it makes you evil at all. I agree 100%.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Yes. Absolutely. Without a second thought.

I know it makes me an evil, evil person but I don't even think of Down's sufferers as human. They're...not right. Defective. Little more than pets or playthings like animals. And like I said, I know that makes me an evil, evil person but my revulsion at the sight of them is deeply personal and not something I can deny.

If you don't give disabled people silly haircuts and silly clothes, you don't notice them.
A lot of our issues with the disabled are in our heads, ironically.

Back on topic: It's not my place to stop someone's attempt at living just because they're going to have some challenge in it, that's what I think, anyway.

 

[Quaidis]

I would have a second look at it from another doctor (so I'm not insta-killing a baby) then yes. Without a doubt. The kid would be aborted if it had Down Syndrome.

I would not have the responsibility nor know-how to take care of a kid with Down Syndrome. If some anti-abortionist group attacked me and made my family keep the child, I would give it up for adoption. It's one thing to have a kid with a disability like that, it's another to know if you're capable of taking it on. I wouldn't be.

That and it ruins the quality of life for everyone, including the kid. My neighbor has a teenager with D.S. Every single freaking morning she sits in the driveway and screams nonstop about how she doesn't want to go to school. I mean, she can't even speak. Just screams. Sometimes it doesn't even sound human. I thought someone had hit a dog one time towards the beginning of it. And the entire neighborhood is annoyed by it. Wakes me up once in a while. It's clear that her impact is really taxing on her parents, especially the father who has to stay at home all day to take care of her. They can never go on vacations or get leave of the kid, and she'll never leave that small tight environment outside of repeatedly going to school (or day care) during the day.

And that's one of many examples I can give. I'm also around DownSyndrome kids at a horse ranch I volunteer at. They aren't as bad, though they do lose it every time, sit on the ground, and throw a screaming tantrum about not wanting to go up on the horses.


edit - random fixes.

 

[Danny3005]

Hell no
Im not raising some mental idiot
I'd press the big red abort button the second I find out.

 

[Hairetos]

Somehow I doubt the altruistic motives of the posters here. Personally, I would abort it because I'm not fundamentally opposed to abortion and I would probably end up killing myself if I had to raise a down syndrome child.

But to those people who think they're doing it a favor, I promise you that you aren't. Mentally retarded people are some of the happiest people out there due mostly to a great deal of babying involved. They're very rarely explicitly judged and exempt from the responsibilities that make life difficult.

I'd abort it because I'm a selfish bastard.

 

[unsmart]

I'm not sure but here's another question: Would you abort the baby if you thought it had a chance of being a dwarf? http://www.cracked.com/blog/i-love-tiptoes/

 

[MrHero17]

no because this would lead people to believe then that any mental sickenss would be a good reason for abortion in my opinion. If that happens then its possible that they would also abort if the childs not "perfect" after a certain point.

But how would that effect you in anyway? I've heard this before but I don't see what the issue is, people have the babys they want to have, it doesn't mean they aren't going to raise them with love and care. If someone wants to abort a perfectly fine baby because they don't like what color it's eyes are going to be then it's their loss.

I would MUCH rather be dead than retarded, so I would absolutely abort a child that was determined to have mental defects. No one should have to live like that. No, I don't care about your anecdotal evidence of people with defects being "happy." They don't know any better; they don't know that they're hardly more than animals, and they don't realize how much they ruin the lives of the people that care about them.

WOW! You really just let it all hang loose there didn't you? I'll just let someone else tear into that since I don't feel like writing out my own "person I knew who had a mental disability but was still cool" story.

 

[Sjakie]

Yes, i would do it too.
Our technology gives us choices, we should use them as we wish.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I suspect I would, and mostly for selfish reasons.

Simply put, if I had children...I'd want them to become independant and able...looking after your spawn forever is a shitty deal.

 

[Ziadaine_v1legacy]

I'm mildly disgusted at the number of people who are saying yes. My uncle has down syndrome and while he may not perceive things like we do he still has thoughts and emotions. When my grandparents had to send him to a home because they were no longer able to take care of him I remember that a few days later he was crying because he missed them. He's still human. He's still capable of being happy or sad or angry, and even if he can't express himself he still loves his parents and his sister, and they love him. I desperately hope the people here just don't understand what they're talking about or else I fear for the human race.

People aren't saying yes "Just because their mentally handicapped", there's a lot of contributing factors into it as well. Can they financially support the child, will it be too difficult for the child to grow up (and im not even referring to bullying), religion, personal matters, etc. I personally would say yes, due to personal experiences with a family member where I saw him in such a bad state my body froze up and started convulsing. I could not bare the burden to see my own child live like that.