Loving every child – a mothers perspective.

Last Saturday Saving Downs and Family Life International held the “Loving Every Child: Defying Eugenics” seminar in Auckland. Over the next few weeks we will be sharing the papers and presentations from the seminar. In the meantime we are sharing the following feedback from a mother who joined us for the day.

I wanted to email you to tell you how much I enjoyed the Defying Eugenics Seminar, but more importantly how much I learnt about the Down syndrome community and the discrimination they face in our country, even from the time of their conception. I haven’t before had an opportunity to see and hear firsthand what it is like to be a person with Down Syndrome or what their families experience, so I learnt a lot most especially just how much love they have to share free from prejudice, something we could all learn from and adopt.

The whole seminar took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions that varied as wide and far as the speakers presenting, inspiration, joy, compassion, outrage, horror, disbelief, anger, admiration all churned together in a sometimes gut wrenching knot as I was enlighten of the full picture, the whole truth of this insidious screening process for Down Syndrome and Spina Bifida in New Zealand.

I have had to this point a limited knowledge about the Down Syndrome community and this prenatal screening process. Even after having four children myself, no Doctor or Midwife has ever explained the screening process to me with the hard facts like Dr Deidre Little did in her presentation. I personally have never agreed or consented to this screening process in pregnancy but I had no idea of the extent our government is going to (as with the financial expense) to do something I could only describe as a death hunt of our most vulnerable members in society. To say I am shocked is an understatement.

I am in disbelief to learn our government has decided it is beneficial to spend 9.4 million dollars of taxpayers’ money just to seek out a small number of babies with Down Syndrome to offer their mothers a fully paid for abortion compliments of the state, I can see very clearly now this is beyond discrimination, what words are there to adequately describe it, I feel physically sick at the thought of it.

I thought I might also share something that happened to me at the seminar that truly touched me.

As I was seated listening to the first speakers for the day I noticed Rebecca walk up the aisle to you Mike just a few rows in front of where I was sitting, as I watched Rebecca shower you with heartfelt hugs and your obvious joy at this it was very clear of the very special bond you both have and the joy you share with each other. As I couldn’t help but watch this I thought to myself what a very special little girl Rebecca is and how much I would like to meet her and give her a hug! So in the first morning break I went up to Rebecca and knelt down to say hello and I intended to ask her if I could give her a hug, although I wasn’t sure how she would react to this? However I need not have worried as before I could even ask her if I could give her a hug she came forward and wrapped her little arms around my neck and hugged me first. It really was like she intuitively knew that’s want I wanted to ask her for, a hug, so she made it very easy for me and I didn’t even need to ask and what a warm hug it was!

I came away feeling like I experienced firsthand what children with Down Syndrome have been blessed with, ‘the extra love chromosome’. It made my day, a special embrace from a very special little girl.