Women, would you get an abortion if prenatal screening showed the baby would be developmentally disabled?

Question

The developmetal disability would impair their cognitive development, greatly limit the child's ability become a productive independent adult and probably significantly shorten their life expectancy. Knowing this, would you still go through with the pregnancy or abort? Please explain your reasons.

Answer 1

I am a proud mother of two autistic boys. I am glad I got the chance to know them and help raise them.

Every unborn human deserves a chance to live. EVERY unborn human.

Answer 2

I don't know, it would depend how I felt if that ever occurred.  

Answer 3

im not a girl

but why would you kill it?

just because its not the perfect child you kill it?

Answer 4

Hey I'm 49. If I found out I was pregnant I would shoot myself.

Answer 5

no. there's no way and nothing that would cause me to. It is simply not my right.  

Answer 6

I honestly don't know the answer to your question but I do know that it's important to me that I be able to make that choice with my husband and doctors. Something so important shouldn't be decided alone.

Answer 7

I would.  I think there is a good possibility that such a fetus would result in a miscarriage, but I would do it just the same.  The government does not have enough resources to help people with disabilities as it is.  I certainly don't.  I have worked with plenty of disabled people to know that they do suffer to one degree or another.  It is especially hard if they realize that they are different from other people yet cannot change.  Just because they are disabled does not mean that their bodies will not go through adolescence.  How is someone who is disabled supposed to cope of those new feelings and hormones?  It is sad to think they will never be able to fulfill natural urges.  

This is just what I would do.  If other women want to raise such a child and have the resources to do so, I would not judge them.  I would hope people would also not judge me.

j-r

Answer 8

Yes!

Why would ANY loving parent subject a child they LOVE, to the life that you just described!

I have a friend who has such a child, and she says that as much as she loves her daughter, she wished she had known ahead of time, and she would have made different choices!

You can not judge these people until you have walked a mile in their shoes!

In many cases abortion IS the only option!!

Answer 9

I would abort it, sadly, if the child would be in pain or cannot function. I do not want to have someone suffer for the rest of their lives, but I know that decision would kill me on the inside..

Answer 10

No, i believe in life at conception and that abortion is a slippery slope.

Maybe we should kill all 80 year olds when they become an inconvenience.

PS   Before birth control and abortion my Mom had 2 boys with Duchene Muscular Dystrophy - Jerry lewis telethon to-day.

They are in wheelchairs by age 5 and live to around 17.

I asked my Mom that question when i was older.  She said no.

Even though it was hard for all, they had 17 happy years and made a difference in many lives. It's not how long you live, but how well you live.

Answer 11

I  would absolutely keep it God wants this child here for a reason and furthermore thats my baby thats apart of me and im not going to kill it because it didnt turn out the way I wanted it to

Answer 12

No.  I have a child with autism and he is an absolute joy to have in the family.  That said, I am pro-choice and would never presume to force my position on other women.

Answer 13

I would abort. I know that I am NOT capable of dealing with most disabilities, and I think it would be cruel to put a disabled child into the adoption system since most people looking to adopt aren't looking to adopt disabled babies. Additionally, as an only child I will be completely responsible for my parents' care when they finally need it, and I think it would be cruel for me to bring a third person into a situation where doing so would make it almost impossible for me to give all three people (mom, dad, kid) the care they need and deserve.  

Answer 14

Beethoven would not have lived if his mother had aborted him.Beethoven had several older siblings who born ill and died in infancy.

Answer 15

My baby was diagnosed with a severe heart condition at 24 weeks gestation.  She had a 30% chance of survival if she made it to full term.  The doctor suggested to abort the pregnancy.  But I chose to continue.  I had faith that my baby would be ok.  She is now a happy nine month old baby.  She still has her heart condition and she will need surgery down the track,  but she is as healthy as any normal 9 month old could be.  

Answer 16

I would keep the baby. It must be a very difficult decision, and I wouldn't judge anyone who chooses to abort in that situation, but my personal belief is that it's wrong.

Every child deserves the chance to live, and disabled children can still lead happy lives with support from their family. Killing the babies who are deemed to be "imperfect" is nothing more than eugenics, and I think we should try to look for the positive contributions that every person can make to the world. Two of my best friends have disabilities, and they are both lovely, happy people.

Also, you can't really know the extent of the disability until the baby is actually born - there have been cases where babies are diagnosed with Down's Syndrome and other conditions whilst in the womb, and have then been born healthy. I'd always be wondering whether that would've happened.  

Answer 17

I would not have an abortion.  I work with adults with developmental disabilities and I understand and know they each of them has value as a human being.  I would love them, just like I do my 'normal' children.

Answer 18

If the only thing it showed was a cognitive defect, I wouldn't abort it.  If it showed something like Tay-Sachs or Trisomy 21, which would doom the child to a short life of pain and suffering, I would consider it personally very unkind to force any human to be born to that.  

Answer 19

Depends. How early is the pregnancy? What's my situation--can I take time off work to raise a developmentally disabled child? Do I have any previous children I have to take care of? Am I single, or do I have another earner I can depend on?

How bad is it? There's actually worse DD than you're describing in which the adult is still comatose and sometimes moves an arm or leg randomly.

The most important one: are they going to be in pain?

All factors in my choice.

Answer 20

A significant number of pro-choice women would choose to abort because they are motivated by money, what they personally desire, rather than what God desires and the avoidance of painful inconvenience.

Slightly fewer women would choose to birth the baby because they believe that abortion is akin to murder.  They believe that God would disapprove.  They also know that such children are very loving and a joy to raise.  They also know that there or programs that will assist their child to have a happy life.

When I first met Jeremy Junior, he was the 35 year old son of one of my close friends.  JJ was 35 years old with the mind of a ten year old.  He had just been promoted to live with three other boys in a group of shared responsibilities.  He was enthusiastically looking forward to the group experience because he would learn to cook, balance a checkbook, clean house, catch the bus to go to work and many other duties.  He was looking forward to someday graduating to live in an apartment with just one other person with the same disabilities as himself.  

Answer 21

My girlfriend is a special ed teacher for "severe and profound" disabilities. According to her most people don't abort because they get all kinds of government assistance. Whereas the parents of a healthy child gets nothing.

Answer 22

I would need to know much more information.

If it was something like Tay Sachs, I would abort. If it was something significantly less severe, I probably wouldn't.  

Answer 23

I have a friend who was pregnant and her doctor told her that there was a high probability that her child would be developmentally disabled. My friend was pro-life and had the child anyway. There was NOTHING wrong with her child. She was completely healthy. She's now 12 years old and the funniest kid you'll ever see.

Science is just that. Science. It cannot predict everything and it's not always right. Anyone that would 'throw away' a life because it might have health problems is a callous murderer.

A fetus is a life. Abortion kills a fetus because otherwise it will continue to grow into an infant. Growing means life. Taking a life is considered murder. Abortion is murder.

Answer 24

I'm not a woman, but yes, my wife and I would continue the pregnancy.  My niece was told that her second child was developmentally disabled before he was born.  The doctor urged her to get an abortion over and over.  She refused and carried the baby to full term.  He is now 13 years old, extremely intelligent, and has absolutely nothing wrong with him whatsoever.  What if she had listened to the doctor?

Answer 25

I would keep it. Its still my baby regardless of whether or not it is developmentally disabled. Since I am in no position to raise a child (19, in college, single low paying job, and living off of ramen noodles) let alone a child with special needs I would probably put it up for adoption. I couldn't give it what it needs but I know some else out there could.

Edit- I noticed some of the other people bringing up a good point. If the child was going to live an extremely painful and short life I might consider it. I could not imagine how horrible it would be for a child to live off of IVs, respirators, and feeding tubes. It depends on how the child's quality of life would be. I would need to be told more.