ABC: Down syndrome births down in U.S.

Patti's Comments:  All I have to say about this is YIKES!

Excerpt from PatriciaEBauer.com: (click for entire article)

In its coverage of recent research documenting widespread terminations of pregnancies involving Down syndrome, ABC News shifts its focus to the growing concern that women are making their decisions based on misinformation and myths about the disorder. Author Susan Donaldson James interviews Dr. Brian Skotko, who says research suggests that mothers are getting inaccurate, incomplete and sometimes offensive information.

Boston filmmaker Melanie McLaughlin had no knowledge of Down syndrome when her daughter Grace was born, but was encouraged after the First Call program of the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress introduced her to a family of a five-year-old with the syndrome.

“She played hide and seek, and she kept jumping out, telling us where she was hiding,” McLaughlin said. “She was amazing. I was thinking she would be sitting in a chair unresponsive and drooling. “Actually, she was much like our other children,” McLaughlin said. “We thought, maybe we can go forward.”

A Connecticut woman told ABC News that she terminated her pregnancy after Down syndrome was diagnosed and her doctor “didn’t paint the brightest picture” and didn’t introduce her to anyone with the condition. She said the stress of the experience made her feel that “we were falling apart.”