disability rights
Kate Cox and Stories of Trisomy 18
by Sarah Terzo This is Part 1 of 2. We will run Part 2 next week, explaining what a D & E abortion entails as the proposed alternative to giving birth. Kate Cox sued Texas for permission to abort her baby, who had Trisomy 18. Cox’s doctor told her that her baby was “incompatible with…
Bigotry against Babies with Down Syndrome: International Experiences
by Sarah Terzo Recently, the CLN Blog published an article about discrimination against people with Down syndrome and how it leads to abortion. The article looked at cases from the United States, but the same thing happens in other countries. Writer Says She Would Have Aborted Her Children If They Had Down Syndrome An author…
Bigotry against Babies with Down Syndrome
by Sarah Terzo Worldwide, most babies diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome are aborted. US statistics vary, but one study put the overall number at 67%. People Who Want to Abort Babies with Down Syndrome Give Their Reasons Rayna Rapp, who aborted a baby with Down syndrome herself, interviewed parents who were waiting for the…
“She Is a Beautiful Person”: Parents of Children with Down Syndrome Speak Out
by Sarah Terzo Babies with Down Syndrome are common targets for abortion. Estimates of the percentage of pregnancies involving children with Down Syndrome that end in abortion vary, but one study found that abortion has reduced the number of babies born with Down Syndrome by 30%. Ethicist Joseph Fletcher described people with Down Syndrome…
Abortion and People with Disabilities
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed in 1990. This anti-discrimination legislation should have had a positive effect on perceptions of the disabled. For those well beyond infancy, it did. But there was a dramatic decrease in the birth rate for Down Syndrome babies. A study on media framing, 1998-2006, showed disability was presented in negative terms. There were…
Killing the Disabled
by Tara Zoe Roshe (pen name), republished with permission from her Medium blog I am a disabled woman with rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that attacks the joints. I use a walker or a wheelchair in my daily life but was able-bodied a short 10 years ago. Over the past few years, my physical condition has…
A Lawyer’s Turnaround on Baby Doe with Her Own Down Syndrome Baby
by Sarah Terzo Janine Steck Huffman has a child with Down syndrome. But years before she gave birth to her son Nash, she was partly responsible for the legal starvation death of Baby Doe, another child with Down syndrome. Baby Doe was born in Bloomington, Indiana, in April 1982. Besides Down syndrome, he had…
#SayHisName: The Medical Murder of Michael Hickson
by Sophie Trist The death of forty-six-year-old Michael Hickson of Austin, Texas from Covid-19 exists at the intersection of several critical social justice conversations: pervasive prejudice within the medical system, the devaluing of disabled lives during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the catastrophic effects of the novel corona virus on Black and Brown communities. But apart…
Will I be Treated the Same Way Now?
Due to giving medical details, the author wishes to remain anonymous. I am a disabled woman with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a disease that attacks the joints. I use a walker or a wheelchair in my daily life. I’m worried about where the medical field is heading. My home state of New Jersey has legalized assisted…
Women’s History Month: Jane Addams
Jane Addams is a notable follower of the consistent life ethic (before the term was coined). We offer a lengthy book excerpt, a shorter book excerpt, and a note from the exhibits at Hull House Museum. Condensed excerpt from ProLife Feminism: Yesterday and Today, pp. 120-126 The Nonviolent Power of the Maternal Body Politic: Jane…