Prenatal Tests Target Unborn Babies with Down Syndrome

[lightsoflove]

                                        

During pregnancy, women undergo many tests to ensure the health of the baby and mother, screening for problems such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. However, unborn children are also tested for nonfatal, less severe problems. Those who are found to have conditions such as Down syndrome are almost always killed before they can draw their first breath.

A report in the February 28 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that a very common method used to screen for Down syndrome is extremely unreliable. However, researchers continue to devote much time and money to develop other ways to diagnose Down syndrome, methods that can be done earlier in pregnancy with more accuracy.

People with Down syndrome, which is caused by the presence of an extra chromosome, often have mild to moderate mental retardation, congenital heart defects, and an increased risk for certain diseases, according to the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS). Those with the syndrome can live full, productive, and happy lives with help from modern medicine and quality educational programs.

"People with Down syndrome are people first," insists the NDSS on its web site. They "have the same emotions and needs as their peers and deserve the same opportunities."

             

But prejudice and fear against those with Down syndrome are still very common. "Identification and selective abortion of Down syndrome pregnancies raise important ethical concerns," according to the National Institutes of Health's Guide to Clinical Preventive Services. "These concerns include the implicit message that Down syndrome is an undesirable state, the interpretation of induced abortion in eugenic terms by some persons, and societal and economic pressures that may stigmatize families with a Down syndrome member."

The drive to find new and better diagnostic tools that usually lead to the deaths of unborn babies with Down syndrome does nothing to alleviate such concerns.

The JAMA report analyzed studies concerning the use of second- trimester ultrasound tests that looked for physical "markers" thought to indicate the presence of Down syndrome. The markers included "a shaded area suggesting a thickening at the back of the neck" (or nuchal fold); "certain brain cysts; shortened thigh and upper-arm bones; bright spots on the bowel or heart; and high fluid levels in the kidneys," according to the Associated Press.

If any of these markers were found during the ultrasound examination, the pregnant woman would be encouraged to undergo further testing, usually an amniocentesis or chronic villus sampling. Both of these tests, which remove amniotic fluid or cells directly from the mother's womb, carry a real risk of miscarriage.

The report authors, led by Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman of the University of California at San Francisco, found that only one marker, a thickened nuchal fold, had even a slight amount of accuracy in predicting the presence of Down syndrome. There were many examples of false positives, cases in which the markers suggested the presence of Down syndrome but subsequent tests showed that the unborn child did not have the syndrome. If the ultrasound markers are used, the study authors wrote, "there will be inevitable losses of unaffected fetuses as a complication of amniocentesis."

"The markers, by themselves, aren't worth a whole lot," Smith- Bindman told the San Jose Mercury News. "They're very common, and we currently make a lot of decisions based on them. We're artificially creating anxiety and fear when there doesn't deserve to be any."

Many other tools are used or being developed to identify unborn babies with Down syndrome. One is a "triple test," in which the mother's blood is drawn during the first trimester of pregnancy and tested for levels of alphafetoprotein and two other substances that indicate the presence of Down syndrome.

A study known as "FASTER," the First and Second Trimester Evaluation of Risk, is currently being conducted at New York University, according to Reuters Health. Researchers are comparing second-trimester screening tests with an ultrasound examination for nuchal fold thickening in the first trimester combined with a maternal blood test.

Thirteen medical centers in the United States are conducting a federally funded clinical trial on a similar test, called the First Trimester Maternal Serum Biochemistry and Fetal Nuchal Translucency Screening, WebMD Medical News reported.

Other researchers are developing a "non-invasive genetic test that samples fetal cells in the mother's blood to screen for Down syndrome, but the test is not yet ready," according to the Mercury News.

It is clear that this research will result in more unborn children with Down syndrome killed in the womb, rather than helping find a cure or assisting those with the syndrome to live more healthy and happy lives. Advocacy groups insist that devoting energy to live-giving research would make a real and lasting difference.

"Ensuring equal treatment and access to services is a struggle that every family of a child with Down syndrome faces," states the NDSS. "A greater understanding of Down syndrome and advancements in treatment of Down syndrome-related health problems have allowed people with Down syndrome to enjoy fuller and more active lives."

 

By Liz Townsend

[Glows]

Jan. 27, 2011 at 10:13 AM

this a letter that was written by a mother to her aborted child.  She wrote the letter while attending a Rachel's Vineyard retreat... and received the wonderful awesome healing power of Jesus when the weekend was over.

****************************************************

 

Dear Grace,

Special greetings my sweet little Gracie!  I know that you are in a place of great love and healing. 

 

I often wonder what your little body experienced as you were being ripped away from me.  I can imagine that you were trying to cling to me with all your might.  I know you were because the doctor was experiencing difficulties tearing you away.  I'm sorry for the pain that caused you and that I allowed your body to be discarded in such a dishonorable way.  Sorry that I denied you life or even a funeral.  And that your coffin was a glass jar and then later, who knows what, perhaps a garbage can.  I wonder what they did to your remains; I hope they didn't dishonor you too horribly bad. 

 

I'm sorry that I didn't fight for you Gracie.  But I couldn't fight for myself.  I just thought that if none of the people who were supposed to love and protect me were going to – then why should I love and protect myself.  I should have protected you Gracie.

 

Gracie, I'm sorry that I denied you the privilege of seeing my face and gazing into my eyes, and that you will never get to hold my hand or feed from my breast.  Sorry that you will never get to see your daddy's face lovingly look at you in awe and wonder of the beautiful life that he created.  I'm sorry that you will never get to explore the wonders of this earth.

 

I want you to know that I desperately long to touch you and see you.  I want to hold and protect you.  I want to dress you and comb your hair.  I want to do all the things that a mommy does.  I want to see your tiny little hands.  Do they look like mine or do they look like Michael's?  And what about your nose?  Is it cute and kinda pointy?  Who do you act like?  Are you chatty or quiet?  What kinds of things would you like to do?  I picture you with sweet kinda curly blonde hair and blue eyes.  I see you on fire and ready to explore the world.  And I deeply regret not allowing myself to watch you do it, or you to be blessed with life.

 

I'm sorry that your daddy didn't want you.  I'm sorry that he couldn't love you.  I'm sorry that neither set of your grandparents wanted you.  They were just all scared.  They were all scared of you and the responsibility that they would have to you.  I could list all the things/reasons/excuses that everyone had, but they don't matter.  Because I know that that is not what you are about.  For the very name that God gave to you Gracie exemplifies the very essence of what God's unfailing love represents.  I know that you have absolutely no condemnation for what was done to you, and for the life that you were denied.  Nor do you have any condemning feelings toward your family members.  I know that you want to see everyone healed and brought closer to your heavenly father who you get to experience everyday.  I know that he finished forming you from mangled pieces and made you perfect in every way.

           

"…where sin abounded, grace did much more abound"  Romans 5:20

 

I can't wait to see you Gracie.

 

Love

Mommy

[Glows]

Jan. 27, 2011 at 10:18 AM

~This letter was written by a father to his son~

My Dear John Peter,

This past weekend I did something I should have done a very long time ago. I confessed to your death by abortion. John, you would today be a young man of twenty, vibrant and alive. By allowing your abortion I sinned against you and against God. Forgive me John, for I did it for all the wrong reasons.

The main reason, John, was that I was afraid, afraid that the stress you would have added to your Mother's life might ruin our new marriage. Yet, John, I know now how much you would have added to and enriched my life and very likely the life of your Mother. John, I tried to justify your death to convince myself that you were only a package of tissue cells, no more perhaps than an egg is a full grown chicken. I tried to convince myself that what had happened was right, that in destroying this tissue, I had saved my marriage. After all, I thought, we can always have more children later. John, from that night onward I always had a "knot'' in my stomach. Try as I might, I could not get you out of my mind completely. Perhaps that is the worst kind of sin, my son, the kind that bothers a person so deeply. Sometimes, when you come to mind, I would figure out how old you'd have been, what you might be doing at that age. James, your brother, reminded me sometimes of you as did the girls.

John, you had so much potential. Did you know John you could have been anything'? Tears come again John, as they did Saturday night. I am swept by pain, John, and tears do little to wash the pain away. And yet, little one, it is I who am saved by you and the mercy of God through the intercession of Jesus. You see, Little One, it is because of you that I finally sought reconciliation, not the usual kind the kind where I'd go to confession, do my penance, and leave without any sort of contrition. Little One, it is your death and my guilt which finally led to my confession of this sin. Yes, I had confessed before, but I had done so to "play the odds,'' to "be on the safe side'' just in case what I learned was true. On Saturday as I confessed I was crying: I felt a sense of remorse and guilt so deeply that I almost wish I could have died. John, if my dying now would give the world you I would offer my life. As you know, John, your Mother and I are now divorced. Your Mother may not ever have confessed to this sin. John Peter, if you would do me a favor, I would ask that you through Jesus work the same miracle on Sandy that you have worked on me. Your Mom was young too, John. To her at the time you represented this awesome threat to her chosen career. Please forgive her as well, John Peter. Please, my Little One, intercede for both of us through Jesus.

I find it searingly ironic, Little One, that it is I who ask such favors of one whom I killed or rather, allowed to be killed. And yet I ask, Little One, for I have grown to love you in a way that is at once both deep and pure.

In the fall, John, when the leaves fall from the trees I shall think of you, for you too fell from life. In the cold of winter, John, the snow shall remind me of you: for like the snow you were and are white and pure. In the spring, John, I shall think of you: for the birth of spring shall remind me that you, too should have been born into this world. John, I shall think of you in the summer: I shall imagine your laughter. I shall see you as you might have been, a little boy running and playing, scraping your knees from a fall. I shall miss, John, all that I might have gained from your life.

My Little One, John Peter, I can only now ask you to forgive me as Jesus and God have done.

May you rest in the arms of God

Dad

[mommy.loves.2]

Jan. 27, 2011 at 10:33 PM

I was offered the testing for Down syndrome and refused. Even if I would have gotten them and found out they had it, I would have kept on with the pregnancy. I couldnt imagine the pain that the letters above express.  

[SherriPie]

Jan. 28, 2011 at 3:22 PM

I refused the test as well.  I didn't figure it would make much difference to me because I am still having a baby.  We found out during our u/s that our baby will be born with cleft.  Not too long ago, babies with cleft were aborted.  I cannot even imagine.  He's still my child, my flesh, my blood, and a part of me.  No matter what God gives us, it's never too much to handle.