December 2, 2008 4:45 PM
Keeping Infants with Down Syndrome - March for Life 2009
Leticia Velasquez and Eileen Haupt, two mothers who each have a daughter with Down syndrome are organizing a group of families who have children with Down syndrome to march together in the 2009 March for Life in Washington, D.C. We are calling our endeavor KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome) to raise awareness about the 90% abortion rate of babies with Down syndrome and to challenge the misinformation that often leads mothers who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome to seek an abortion.
WHEN: Thursday, January 22, 2009, 11:30 a.m. to Noon
WHERE: National Right to Life Committee, 512 10th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
WHAT: Meeting place for families who have children with Down syndrome (and other prenatally diagnosed conditions) to walk together in the 2009 March for Life
For more information please contact Eileen Haupt - vteileen(at)comcast(dot)net or Leticia Velasquez - marysjoys(at)yahoo(dot)com
Leticia says they plan to invite Sarah Palin!
Posted in Down syndrome, Pro-Life Issues | Permalink
Comments
Great idea, to be a presence in the march. Raise awareness! Go for it!
Two comments:
1. Wonderful idea to invite Sarah Palin, hope she can come!
2. If docs are pre-"diagnosing" Down Syndrome in the womb and prejudicing parents with these kinds of ignorant, uninformed bias, then who, may I ask, is teaching the doctors these lies? This horrible deception and bias against Down Syndrome children in the medical community must be attacked at the root - in medical school.
Posted by: Julie Elliott-Eickenroth | January 15, 2009 3:42 PM
Thank you so much for publicizing this much needed march for awareness, January 22nd. If we were closer, we would be there for sure!
My husband and I live in Wasilla, Alaska with our 5 children, the youngest two are near-3 year old boy/girl twins-w/ our littlest girl having Down Syndrome. Yes, the first couple years have been exhausting for all of us. We committed as a family to embrace the challenges of effective physical therapy, sign language and positive learning environments for our daughter. She was the smallest twin, born very low tone with a two-chamber heart which was an adventure of its own.
To say that she has been a blessing to us would be like putting a lid on a boiling pot of water. She is so much more. Her name is Rejoice and she has rocked our world and has helped us all to find a whole new depth of meaning for our lives and for our relationships with one another.
Our oldest son, a Sr. in high school, completely contributes his dramatic change of heart almost 3 years ago to serve and assist others to help change their lives/circumstances to the close attachment that he has with his littlest sister, Rejoice. Rejoice has opened a whole new community to our family, skiing with Challenge Alaska, Special Olympics, playgroups with exceptional children and their families...She has helped to open our eyes to see what we have been missing all of our lives before her arrival. We are so very grateful for her courage and will to live life to its ultimate fullest. We can learn so very much from her AND instead of trying to make Rejoice more like us (typical procedure), why don't we try to be more like her: more grateful, more forgiving, more Joyful...
Posted by: Dakari Ralph | January 16, 2009 6:43 PM
