I'm pretty much pro-choice, though I believe that it shouldn't be used as the convenient way out.
However, I'm sort of torn when people choose to abort because the child will be born with some kind of defect. I might sound a bit ignorant from here, but bear with it. Do people with Down's Syndrome think the same way that "normal" people do? Or do they have a different thought process or stunted ability to think?
If it's the latter, I'd hope they'd be able to live in an ignorant bliss and I'd be morally opposed to having them aborted due to their defect. People are assholes, and if they can ignore the judgmental impressions of "normal" people by essentially being unaware, I'd say that's a good thing. At least they can live happily in their own realities.
However, in the case of the former, it'd be a lot harder for me to stand that way. I'd still feel really guilty if I were in the situation where the person I got pregnant was to abort, but putting myself into the shoes of someone with Down's Syndrome with the same ability to think as "normal" people, I'm not sure if I'd be too happy. Everyone knows the whole angsty phase that teens go through, trying to find a place where they belong. That and group mentality. I can't imagine how insanely difficult it would be for someone who has an obvious physical defect (it is fairly easy to recognize someone with Down's) to cast a first impression that would enable them to feel comfortable around those "normal" kids. I'd imagine they'd get shunned more easily. In that case, what would those things, knowing that people look at you differently because of how you look or being unable to easily make friends with people that are at first glance different from you, be except burdens? Is it morally acceptable to prevent that kind of suffering? Maybe, but at the same time, deciding whether or not someone gets to live isn't really something I'd call moral.
In the end, I would probably choose to abort if kids with Down's think the same way as everyone else. I wouldn't want anyone going through the sufferings that I imagine would befall them. I know that's kind of selfish, I know it'll probably haunt me, but I do believe it's the lesser of two evils. Though I know that I might have gotten it all wrong, and would've snuffed out a life because of what I thought, instead of what it actually is.
I think I may have gone off on a tangent here. :wtf: I was a bit shocked about the 90% statistic though.
