Sunday, August 26, 2007

Down Syndrome Carnival

Down Syndrome Carnival.

This Carnival features an assortment of posts well worth checking out. Following one link eventually brings you to two New York Times videos:

  • Down Syndrome

  • Difficult Diagnosis

    I don't like a lot of the language of these videos. I especially don't like the fact that they ignore the whole issue of discrimination. The drive to diagnose DS in utero and abort these kids is genocide in the most literal sense -- trying to wipe out people based on genetics. I wish they'd have addressed this. But at least the videos bring new information and perspectives to light. So, a good step in the right direction, even if the steps are not firmly on the path of valuing everybody, regardless of differences like DS.

    The post also plugs a book, Gifts: Mothers Reflect on How Children with Down Syndrome Enrich Their Lives.
  • 2 comments:

    JacqueFromTexas said...

    Here's an interesting story for your round-up:

    http://thenewsexualrevolution.blogspot.com/2007/08/wrong-baby-of-twins-is-aborted.html

    It's the story of twins, one with DS, one without. The parents tried to abort the child with DS but got the other one, instead.

    I oppose the language of "healthy" and "sick." To claim that DS is a sickness is a misnomer. DS is not a disease, it's state of being, like being decided by chromosomes (a lot like height). There are a lot of people without DS that are sick with diseases and a lot of people with DS that are disease free.

    Christina Dunigan said...

    Thanks, Jacque. Let's convert that to a link, shall we?

    I'll blog on it later. Busy morning!