This should make you sick

A doctor in Canada is worried that abortions might decline because of Sarah Palin. Worried. That women will not abort their babies because they are not perfect.

Dr. Andre Lalonde, executive vice president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Ottawa, worries that Palin's now renowned decision may cause abortions in Canada to decline as other women there and elsewhere opt to follow suit.

.....

Lalonde says his primary concern is that women have the....

...choice of abortion and that greater public awareness of women making choices like Palin to complete a pregnancy and give birth to their genetically-abnormal baby could be detrimental and confusing to the women and their families.

"The worry is that this will have an implication for abortion issues in Canada," Lalonde tells the Globe and Mail.

This is very worrying to me too. Because I wonder how far the idea of choice in terminating pregnancies in the quest for perfect babies will go.

I was way old when I had my kids. My chart (when I was pg with the first) said "elderly prima gravida" which means... way old to be having a first baby. I did have genetic testing (amniocentesis), because I don't like surprises. If I was going to have a baby with some genetic problems I wanted to know about it first. To research, you know? Prepare. Get ready. As if anyone is ever truly ready for a baby to drop into their lives, even a perfect one.

Then this year the one kid went through the neuropsychological testing and we found a boatload of "issues" that have had and will have an effect on his academic abilities. Like, mastering long division. And I'm reading up on all these learning disabilities (I'm sorry, differences, I keep forgetting) and I'm told I should go ahead and mourn for the perfect child that I wanted but don't have. And I'm thinking... mourn? I am rejoicing because "working memory deficiencies" are easier to think about than "bad at math." Specific problems with fine motor skills can be addressed, "hates to write" is a little tougher. Now we understand our boy. And some things we can fix, maybe.

But this is where we're at now. People are supposed to mourn their kid's AD/HD diagnosis. So what's up on the prenatal testing horizon? Once "they" eliminate all the Down Syndrome babies, who will be next? In 15 years, when my boy's as-yet-hypothetical wife is pregnant, will she be advised to abort the learning disabled child she's carrying?

Oh, I came across that article at Rachel Lucas, who is a super blogger - because I agree with her opinions and she's got some very cool dogs. But if you are offended by profanity, don't go there. (Though the linked post is remarkably profanity-free.) She's probably the most casually profane person I've ever "met." (Well, outside that one family member who shall remain nameless.)