I'm an American but studied abroad in Denmark for around 6 months. When I was there, I found out that the Nordic countries have virtually eradicated down syndrome by testing pregnant people for it. 99% choose to abort. How do you guys feel about this?
Personally this is quite disturbing to me. I've known people with down syndrome who live happy, quality lives. Even if it is up to the mother whether or not to abort, when it happens 99% of the time, is it not cultural eugenics? It seems the culture is almost afraid of taking care of a child with down syndrome. Especially in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, where the resources to take care of them are more widely available. If you could test for other things like autism, or even something like extreme depression, would yall do the same thing?
EDIT: I am strongly pro choice and I have talked to many American people on both sides of the political spectrum about this and they unanimously agree with me. On an individual level, I support everyones right to make their own decisions, but when it gets to the population level it becomes more of a cultural issue. There seems to be a cultural agreement that children with down syndrome are too difficult to care for. Does that make it ok to eradicate them? I honestly don't know
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The original was posted on /r/denmark by /u/queen_bs at 2024-03-13 15:12:18+00:00.
Emotional-Egg3937 at 2024-03-13 16:41:08+00:00 ID:
kup6hukI am curious: how do you define eugenics? Because I think it is something done deliberately by a government to ensure genetical "improvement" of the population.
In Denmark, you are offered an ultrasound and a blood test around week 12 of pregnancy. With this you can get a risk assessment of Down's syndrome and other genetic anomalies such as Edwards' syndrome. If you are high risk (more than 1:300) you are offered a further genetic testing. After this, if you wish to abort the child, you actually have to apply to do so (right now abortion is only freely available until week 12). But yes, the board which you apply to generally allow for abortions of fetuses with Downs syndrome. You are offered another scan at week 20 that is a general scan for congenital defects. If anything bad shows up on this scan you, again, have to apply in order to be allowed to get an abortion.
No where in this process does the government make the decision for you. The choices are made by lots of individual parents, but it is not some "big plan to cleanse the population". My sister chose not to get the scans for her second child, because she didn't want to make the choice, in case the baby had a chromosomal anomaly. She would rather just accept whatever happened. No one pressured her or anything. That was her own choice to make.
Now, why we as a population make this choice moreso than other countries, I don't know. It is an interesting question. It has been up for debate on national TV as well. I think calling it eugenics is kind of far out though. It is not like Nazi Germany with forced sterilisation, nor is the government forcing abortion on anyone to cleanse the population.
We, as a population, simply make different decision and have other priorities than you do in America. And that is okay.
queen_bs (OP) at 2024-03-13 16:56:27+00:00 ID:
kup9cs4The original comment specifically comparing this issue to vacuuming is absolutely eugenics but I do see what you're saying. if healthcare was free in the US (or anywhere else) and they had this same system I wouldnt be surprised if the same thing occurred. It is absolutely a morally grey area and there is no right answer. On an individual level I support everyones right to make their decisions, but when it gets to the population level it becomes more of a cultural issue. There seems to be a cultural agreement that children with down syndrome are too difficult to care for. Does that make it ok to eradicate them? I honestly don't know