August 30, 2007 5:32 PM
Wrong twin killed in Down syndrome abortion
Here's one you'll never see in the American Mainstream Media:
Vatican ire over botched twin abortionHerald Sun, Australia, August 30, 2007
A BOTCHED abortion of a fetus instead of its Down syndrome twin has prompted the Vatican to compare abortion to the Nazis' selective breeding practices.
Italy was embroiled in a bitter ethical dispute yesterday after it emerged that a surgeon had accidentally terminated the wrong fetus while trying to abort its Down syndrome twin.
The operation on a 38-year-old woman 18 weeks into her pregnancy was performed at the San Paolo hospital in Milan in June but has only just come to light.
The fetus who had Down syndrome was also subsequently aborted.
Weighing into the controversy, the Vatican said aborting a Down syndrome child was the result of a culture of perfection resembling Nazi eugenics.
Read the entire story here.
This story was first carried in the Philipines on 8/27. And on Spero News (a Christian site 8/28) .That's it on Google News so far.
Thanks to Michelle and Becky for alerting me to this news.
And this from Lifesite:
160 Healthy Babies Lost for Every 50 Down’s Cases Detected with AmniocentesisBy Hilary White
LONDON, August 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The risks of amniocentesis to the unborn child have long been known but now a new analysis by a British doctor has shown that using the tests in seek-and-destroy missions for Down's syndrome and other genetic abnormalities results in the deaths of hundreds of healthy babies every year in Britain.
Dr. Hylton Meire, the retired physician and author of texts on ultrasound, calculates that for every 50 children with Down's Syndrome successfully identified and killed by abortion, 160 non-affected babies are lost by miscarriage after the test. His paper, published in the Journal of the British Medical Ultrasound Society, mainly emphasizes that the non-invasive test, called the foetal 'nuchal thickness' measurement, is not as useful as is widely thought because of the high incidents of false positives it gives.Read entire story here.
All I can say is there's a lot of fear out there over something that shouldn't be feared. And yes, it is definitely eugenics. And it is definitely murder.
How sad that parents are willing to risk losing a "perfect" child to avoid an "imperfect" one.
Posted in Down syndrome, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink
Comments
I'm mom to twins, one with DS. It makes me so so sad, what that mother lost. She has no idea of the joy and love that could have been in store for her.
Posted by: jennifergg | August 30, 2007 6:44 PM
Thank you for sharing these stories, Barbara. They break my heart...but we need to know about them.
Posted by: Kristina | August 30, 2007 7:17 PM
I agree with Kristina, this is heartbreaking, horrifying, grievious- it is a burden to know this and to understand what it means. And we need to know.
Thank-you for telling.
Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress | August 30, 2007 9:24 PM
Isn't the mentality of the Nazis and what's going on today with abortions, just plain scary?
The pro-choice supporters will argue that a woman should have an abortion no matter what the reason; because he/she isn't born yet.
Personally, I just don't see the difference. The mentality is the same (in or out of the womb) and that's what is disturbing.
Posted by: Aisha | August 30, 2007 9:31 PM
Ohhhh. That makes me so sad indeed.
Posted by: Holly | August 30, 2007 10:53 PM
A freind of mine who worked as a midwife some years ago knew of a case very similar where both twins were aborted at 20 weeks for down syndrome, it emerged afterwards that neither baby had downs.
The media here simply won't delve into these issues, it seems to be the last taboo.
Posted by: Sheena | August 31, 2007 5:23 AM
How heartbreaking. Pure selfishness.
Posted by: Kathy, Jeff's Wife | August 31, 2007 8:33 AM
When I first heard the story I hoped that the tragedy of losing her healthy child would spur this mother to love and acceptance of the child she had intended to terminate. When I heard she'd already had another abortion, it was just so sad. Two children lost for no reason.
Posted by: Michelle Potter | August 31, 2007 12:44 PM
Lord, please forgive her for she knows not what she did!!!
Posted by: elizabeth | September 2, 2007 2:00 PM
It's strange, but having a child with Downs has never seemed like a tragedy to me. Hard, to be sure. Taking some adjustment, definitely. But something to abort? Never. I just found this story, and I thought you'd want to know about it: http://www.recorderonline.com/news/down_31514___article.html/maylanii_syndrome.html
Posted by: Persephone | September 3, 2007 6:59 PM
I'm 6 months along in my 5th pregnancy and I get asked the question "Do you know what it is?". I answer no, and then the "as long as it's healthy" comment is made. I alway come back with "and if it's not, that is okay too". Most don't know how to respond to such a come-back. The Lord plans our family and each and every child. If it is His will this child will be born, so be it. If it is His will the child will born special or different then his/her siblings, so be it. I trust the Lord to know what my husband and I can handle.
And to think of the many joys that people are keeping themselves from through abortion, for any reason, is just sickening. How sad it must be to our Lord that these precious lives that He gives are deemed unworthy and unwanted. It makes me want to want our children more.
Posted by: Jennifer D | September 4, 2007 1:33 PM
Don't you hate it when trying to murder your "bad" baby, you slaughter the "good" one instead. Oops!
And to think that it's pro-lifers that are usually compared to Nazis.
Posted by: maitreg | September 23, 2007 8:07 PM
Lord, please forgive her for she knows not what she did!!!
Come now, Elizabeth. What did she think she was there for, an appendectomy? Do you really think she misinterpreted...
"Ok, now, we're going to find that evil baby with the extra chromosome and kill him for you. Ok? And then we'll make sure that your good little baby is safe and sound. Vite di Aborto!"
Posted by: Bryan | September 23, 2007 8:16 PM
To think that our society is still the same after all these years of science and our so-called understanding. I too have a child with Down syndrome and I don't understand what is so "different" about this. They have the same feelings as the rest of us and they can do whatever they set their minds to. It will never cease, this "perfection" of society. What do we do with those that are "normal" and they end up doing something "bad"? Are we going to find a way to cure this too? So wrong.
Posted by: Vicki | November 9, 2007 3:30 PM
I HAVE A BABY WITH DOWN SYNDROME... DO U KNOW THAT MOST OF OUR BABIES ARE MISCARRIED... HOW DARE HER KILL HER BABY B/C OF THAT. MY BABY HAS CHANGED MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER AND I HAD FOUR KIDS BEFORE HIM. HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS MADE ME SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY. SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE JUST GAVE UP! GOD GAVE HER A GIFT AND SHE GAVE IT BACK...
Posted by: RAMEERAH | April 27, 2008 8:09 PM
I just love reading these comments. I am sooo pleased we have been blessed with Sarah Palin as the VP pick of John McCain. My Downs syndrome boy is 3 months older than hers. What wonderful good fortune to have been blessed with a beautiful baby and then a spokesperson to the world who holds her ds baby up in the eyes of all the nations and say he is a perfectly beautiful baby boy! So proud. I admire Sarah Palin so much. I know she'll be a fine VP and President!
Posted by: Jody | September 12, 2008 1:53 AM
