Science has always fascinated me, and I eagerly await the completion of the human genome project, the cure for cancer and the cloning of dinosaurs.
2005 saw such scientific achievements as a successful face transplant, the first cloned dog and the incredibly small iPod Nano.
But some disturbing trends have surfaced as well.
Perhaps the most disturbing trend has to do with the proliferation of a simple test called amniocentesis-a first-trimester pregnancy screen that allows expectant mothers to predict whether their child will be born with Down Syndrome.
According to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the disturbing aspect is not the increased usage of amniocentesis, but the rising number of reactionary abortions performed in response to the possibility of having a Down Syndrome child. Some estimates place it as high as 90 percent.
There are at least two grave issues at the heart of this: First, prenatal Down Syndrome tests are far from perfect.
Up to 40 percent of tests inaccurately predict a child will be born with DS, thus begging the questions: Are healthy unborn children being aborted? And if so, would these children have been given a chance had the test not been performed?
The second issue strikes at the heart of the very meaning of life. With such a high percentage of women and couples choosing to abort on the chance that a child may be mentally impaired, we are courting a horrible cultural definition of individual worth.
We’re saying to all children born with some impairment or deformity that they are not worth bringing into the world, and-had we known about their condition beforehand-we probably wouldn’t have allowed them to be born.
I have worked with the Special Olympics for the past couple of years and have made several acquaintances and good friends who live with Down Syndrome. I have found these men and women to be unique and inspiring to nearly everyone around them. They bring joy and love into the families and lives of those who welcome them.
How dare we tell them they’re not welcome-or worse, abort their lives before they get a chance to make an impact on the world?
We’re running the risk of becoming a new breed of fascists, sentencing those we deem unworthy to a premature death. Science fiction, meet the new Aryan movement.