New Down Syndrome Test Still Prompts Abortion Promotion Concerns

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Dec 5, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

New Down Syndrome Test Still Prompts Abortion Promotion Concerns

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 5, 2005

Detroit, MI (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life advocates are still concerned that a new test that allows for earlier testing of Down syndrome will lead to more abortions of unborn babies with the disability. But, some parents of Down syndrome children say parents who find out should keep and love their children.

As LifeNews.com previously reported, a news test was unveiled recently in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that is said to be less expensive, more accurate and able to pinpoint Downs much earlier in pregnancy.

But pro-life groups worry that will lead to more abortions.

Dr. Christine Comstock, director of fetal imaging at Beaumont Hospital in Detroit and the principle site involved with the study, told the Detroit News, "There’s no sense in having the test if they’re not thinking of terminating the pregnancy."

"But it also provides women with early accurate information they need if they do decide to keep the baby," she added.

After finding out that her unborn child had Down syndrome, Christine Spencer told the Detroit News that "I thought my world had ended."

"I wasn’t sure we were the right parents. I called some adoption agencies, and then I found out the list of people wanting to adopt children with Down syndrome was very long. People really wanted these kids," she explained to the News.

"Then I wondered what was wrong with me," she said.

Spencer says her daughter, Lexi loves watching cartoons, readily eats oatmeal and has mastered potty training. She said she and her husband realized after bringing their daughter home from the hospital that keeping her was the right decision.

"God gave us the perfect child," said Christine Spencer. "She’s exactly what we needed."

Unfortunately, most parents don’t make the same decision.

Dr. Ray Bahado-Singh of Wayne State University’s Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, told the Detroit newspaper that some 90 percent of parents who find out their unborn baby has Down syndrome have abortions.

Others say the test is helpful because it allows parents who won’t have abortions to better prepare for bringing a Down syndrome baby into their lives.