Following the post of the Down Syndrome screening tests, some memories and some questions and thoughts have come to mind.
I have remembered a story that marked me a lot, both for the final result, and for the proximity of it.
Those affected were my cousin and her husband when they became pregnant with their first daughter, Angela. They performed the Triple Screening and the result was a significant risk of Down syndrome. I asked my cousin if she remembers the percentage, but she has forgotten it, despite making sure it was high. He was recommended to have an amniocentesis. He refused for the risk of abortion of the test. They repeated the Triple Screening and the result denied the risk of Down Syndrome but threw a new number, a new probability. Angela I had enough numbers to have spina bifida.
They decided to continue with the pregnancy, they mentalized to love him, no matter what happened.
On the day of birth, Angela was born, without Down Syndrome, without spina bifida ... evidently the joy was immense, but that was not the crux of the matter. They decided that their baby would be born, and that is why they were not exposed to an amniocentesis and a 0.5% risk of abortion, which means that 1 in 200 women undergoing the test abort. It could have been them, it could not have been ...
Until then I had never raised my decision in such a case, what would I do as a father? I remember deciding for myself that no, that the part that concerns me in this couple's decision, my answer would be no. I would not abort.
Then I met my wife, and she told me the same thing. Weren't we going to love him the same? Don't they deserve to be born? Don't they deserve to live?
The decisions in this regard are obviously very personal. Each couple chooses what they consider best. It is true that they are children that require a lot of attention, but ... What child does not require all our attention?!?
All children need our arms, our love, our understanding and our dialogue. All have different growth and development rhythms. It is in our hand to understand that any child, with Down Syndrome or not, deserves a chance in life to give and receive love.
