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.
queen_bs (OP) at 2024-03-13 19:57:44+00:00 ID:
kuq6owfI don't want any choice to be forced on anyone, the laws are not the issue here. There seems to be an agreement that down syndrome will negatively affect your life, but only 4% of families say they regret having their child with down syndrome, so that is clearly untrue. It's people's ideas and stigmas against down syndrome that are the issue here
Acceptable_Coat_9515 at 2024-03-13 20:17:13+00:00 ID:
kuqa9pbRight, but that sample of people who did choose to have a child they knew had downs is extremely biased. Because they were the exact people who took a look at their life, evaluated it and came to the conclusion that this is something that they could handle. That doesn’t give any indication on how well the families who made the opposite choice would fare if they had the child with downs.
crazymissdaisy87 at 2024-03-13 20:03:09+00:00 ID:
kuq7opeBecause those families made the choice that they could provide. If families knew they could not provide and end up having a child with Downs the story would be very different.
People are making an informed choice.
Did you know statistically more people go through with a pregnancy regardless of downs? The statistics shows a rise. Because it is AN INFORMED CHOICE
No eugenics even if you put on your blinders and insist. It is a choice and having a fully informed choice means less chance of regret
and by the way everything you posted screams you are NOT ok with us being ok with people making a choice. You're against them making that choice, that is clear
queen_bs (OP) at 2024-03-13 20:17:27+00:00 ID:
kuqabaaThis study was done in the US, where prenatal down syndrome testing is costly. Most people who have a child with down syndrome in the US didn't know until their child was born
crazymissdaisy87 at 2024-03-13 20:25:52+00:00 ID:
kuqbvbiread your own link dude
The overwhelming majority of parents surveyed report that they are happy with their decision to have their child with Down syndrome
They knew
queen_bs (OP) at 2024-03-13 20:34:56+00:00 ID:
kuqdjoyThe article does not explicitly say whether they knew before birth or not, but it does explicitly say that families with down syndrome have a similar, if not better, quality of life. So the argument that it will ruin your life is invalid and I wonder if mothers in Denmark are aware of this, or if their decision is based on non-evidence-based stigmas
crazymissdaisy87 at 2024-03-13 20:38:42+00:00 ID:
kuqe8opMy husband worked with Downs syndrome. It is not stigma but facts.
There has been done a lot to spread awareness both ways. We had a whole tv show following two young men with Downs syndrome. They are beloved by the public.
YOU know if it will ruin YOUR life. That is all it boils down to. Ability to handle a severely disabled child, making the choice to accommodate that
I think your own bias is keeping you from hearing what is being explained
queen_bs (OP) at 2024-03-13 20:19:30+00:00 ID:
kuqaoseI am not against anyone's choice, I am against the stigma surrounding down syndrome that suggests it will ruin families, when that is not true according to this article. If the stigma was lessened, I bet many more people would choose not to abort
crazymissdaisy87 at 2024-03-13 20:27:43+00:00 ID:
kuqc7qwWell-informed about the reality is not stigma. No one push anyone NOT to have a child with Downs
Darkthumbs at 2024-03-14 02:46:11+00:00 ID:
kus3mt6If you could chose, would you ever Pick a kid with Down over one without?