Governor Palin is the mother of a four month old boy who has Down Syndrome. She found out about his condition while four months pregnant. She chose not to have an abortion, a decision which is as private as it is commendable. (And the opposite choice would also have been nothing to criticize her for.)
For some reason, the Right Wing seems to think that this decision boosts Governor Palin's presidential bona fides. After the flip, I'll make another point about this delicate and even intimate subject.
Pat Buchanan and Rush Limbaugh, among others, seem to think that Governor Palin's decision to not abort a child with Down Syndrome makes her a compelling Vice-Presidential candidate, particularly for women. It certainly generates a pang of human sympathy, for the difficulties that their son will face in the coming years.
But the more important fact than her personal decision is that she wants to out law EVERY abortion, unless the mother's life is in jeapordy. This position is far to the right of John McCain, W or the GOP platform [corection: the current GOP platform does not include such exception, but it used to], each of whom acknowledges exceptions for cases of rape and incest.
According to the New York Times, "about 90 percent of pregnant women who are given a Down syndrome diagnosis have chosen to have an abortion." (1)
That's a big number: 9 out of 10. Most opinion surveys reflect that the country is dived on abortion. Depending on how you ask the question, somewhere between 50 and 60 percent of the population believe abortion should be legal, something like 40 or 50 percent believe that it should not.
But the important number...not what people say in a telephone survey, but what people do when faced with unfortunate circumstances, is that 9 out of 10 opt to abort. (And we have to assume that some of the other 10 percent, while choosing not to abort their pregancy, would not want to criminalize the opposite decision made by other women.)
So Sarah Palin chose to give birth to a child with Down syndrome. She, with her husband, are going to raise that child while she also governs Alaska and campaigns for the Vice-Presidency.
Bully for them. But we must remember two important policy points, and we should not be shy in raising them when a Republican tugs at our heart strings with her human narrative
- She wants to criminalize the 90% of women who make a different choice. Talk about out of touch. She thinks that an action freely chosen by 90% of citizens should be a crime in all circumstances.
- Her decision to keep the child was surely facilitated by the health care paid for by the taxpayers of Alaska. And yet she offers no programs that would extend such option to simple folk.
The article that cited the 90% figure makes a serioius point. If 90% of unborn Down syndrome patients are aborted, the number of persons living with Down syndrome will drop dramatically. That means that resources for the care and treatment of such persons, including young Trig Palin, will be ever more scant. Within 2 generations, the number of families affected by this condition will be 1/10th of what it is today. That translates to less visibility, less advocacy and less influence.
Maybe if every woman in this country had guaranteed health care, fewer children with Down syndrome will be aborted. Maybe more parents could afford to make the decision that the Palins did.
Maybe.
Source:
(1) http://www.nytimes.com/...