13-12-2023, 01:07 PM
I had a niece with trisomy 18. When it was diagnosed in-utero, my brother & his wife weren't pressured, as such, to kill their daughter but rather it was just assumed by all the medical staff that they'd want to with surprise being the reaction when they said they didn't want to.
My niece sadly only lived for about a year after birth, however she was a beautiful person who brought love and joy (along with the sadness) to her family.
Once you start down the route of killing people that are "defective" (and society is sadly quite a fair way down that road), how do you decide what defects justify killing for?
And don't try the "clump of cells" weasel words argument; at 20 weeks, a fetus is undeniably a human person. Down Syndrome, which ordinarily confers a death sentence these days is usually picked up at the 12 week ultrasound via measurement of fluid at the back of the baby's head, i.e. it has a clear human form at that stage. Describing it "just a clump of cells" is only as accurate as describing any of us as such. Killing a 10 week old fetus with Down Syndrome (or Trisomy 18, or any other "defect") is as morally justifiable as killing the same person 10 weeks post-birth or even at 10 years old.
My niece sadly only lived for about a year after birth, however she was a beautiful person who brought love and joy (along with the sadness) to her family.
Once you start down the route of killing people that are "defective" (and society is sadly quite a fair way down that road), how do you decide what defects justify killing for?
And don't try the "clump of cells" weasel words argument; at 20 weeks, a fetus is undeniably a human person. Down Syndrome, which ordinarily confers a death sentence these days is usually picked up at the 12 week ultrasound via measurement of fluid at the back of the baby's head, i.e. it has a clear human form at that stage. Describing it "just a clump of cells" is only as accurate as describing any of us as such. Killing a 10 week old fetus with Down Syndrome (or Trisomy 18, or any other "defect") is as morally justifiable as killing the same person 10 weeks post-birth or even at 10 years old.