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
Dette indlæg blev automatisk arkiveret af Leddit-botten. Vil du diskutere tråden? Tilmeld dig på feddit.dk!
The original was posted on /r/denmark by /u/queen_bs at 2024-03-13 15:12:18+00:00.
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