The End of 'Waiting It Out'

That day in October when we learned that Down syndrome might be part of our future, one of the first things I did was call an old friend who was already walking that path. And without taking a breath, she sent me some links, including info about the Down Syndrome Pregnancy group at BabyCenter.com

Little did I know there is a group for everything at BabyCenter.com. There isn't just one for people who are or might be or might not be parents of a child with T21, there are several. But the one specifically called Down Syndrome Pregnancy is pretty narrow in focus. It is for people who are carrying a child who has been confirmed to have Down syndrome (by Chorionic Villus Sampling or Amniocentesis) or who have high enough odds of it to be thinking about it but choose not to do the aforementioned testing because of the risk they carry for miscarriage. The latter group are called 'Waiting it out'.

That group will very likely disappear. I've been reading (and do not begin to understand the science of it, please) that there are tests being developed that will make it possible for every pregnant woman to know, without risk of miscarriage, beyond a reasonable shadow of doubt, whether or not the child she is carrying is carrying an extra chromosome.

Sounds wonderful, right? I wish. Remember, the current rate of termination of babies with a confirmed Ds diagnosis is something like 92%. But many (perhaps half?) babies with Downs are born without a diagnosis. No one knew they had that extra chromosome until it was "too late."

Now, isn't it marvelous, women and their, um, partners, will be able to know with certainty if the baby they are carrying is "defective" before anyone looking at them will be able to tell they are pregnant.

I hope very much that the baby I'm carrying is one of those special sweeties with an extra 21. I want to make sure every woman of childbearing age in my little corner of the universe has every opportunity to see how delightful and marvelous and perfect he or she is. I want to shine a light on this particular baby-killing scheme of the enemy of life.

Enlarge my territory Lord. I know it won't be easy. Nothing worth doing is. I know it will change us. We need to change. I know our whole world will turn upside down. I trust You with that. If You say no, I trust You with that too. All that You do is good and right. I am not afraid. But please, shine Your light, save these babies, who also bear Your image. Hide them somehow, until they can come forth and bear fruit, spiritual fruit. Save us from our fearful selves.
Amen.