GIFTS......it's here

republished by Woodbine, just in time for therecent New York Times article by Amy Harmon, covering the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists new screening procedure for Down syndrome and a few of the GIFTS contributor's views on this recommendation.... I was contacted as a Pro-choice contributor to GIFTS by Amy Harmon and we had a little interview over the phone on Thursday. There will be a follow up article in the NYT on Sunday on the ACOG recommendations and pro-choice views. I don't know if I will end up in the article or not. But I do know Ms. Harmon is trying to make this a pro-life vs pro choice issue. I simply told her I didn't see the ACOG recs as a pro choice or pro life issue- I see this as an education issue. Educate those that get a diagnosis of Ds with the right information; don't scare them. Give them real people who have been there, done that. Not a pat on the back, and an "I'm sorry". Give them examples of real life situations, where we live everyday with our children and adults with Down syndrome and we are not suffering, we thrive and actually have fun, enjoy life, and THEY are living proof that choosing termination is not the best option for THEM. And personally, the 90% termination rate for those that receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome is very misleading. There are many, like us, that did not choose to have prenatal testing. We CHOSE not to have an amnio. Our CHOICE was to have Nash. A child. We ended up with Nash, our child, who happens to have Ds. I am thankful everyday I didn't have an amnio. We made our choice. To have a child. And we hit the jackpot.