THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 8, 1995 TAG: 9503080004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
I'm a 24-year-old mother of two. While pregnant with my second child, I was told he might have Down syndrome. My husband and I decided to have an amniocentesis done. In the two weeks it took to receive the results, we changed our minds a hundred times about what we would do if the test came back positive. In the end, our son didn't have Down. And I thank God every day. I don't know if I could have handled it.
The Jones Institute is providing the same choice as the amniocentesis; however, it offers the choice before the embryo is attached to the uterus, therefore saving a lot of future parents from having to choose to abort an unborn child.
If we are going to eliminate this part of genetic testing, then we should eliminate all genetic research and testing.
The issue here is about the right to choose, not about having a Down child or a healthy child. Our country is built on the freedom of choice, without others telling us we have to do it their way because it's the ``right'' way. When we take the right to choose away from one group of people, we take it away from everyone.
ELIZABETH SCHMIDT
Virginia Beach, Feb. 24, 1995 by CNB