Last week, we worked on a case concerning Down Syndrome. If you don't know, Down syndrome occurs when a child is born with three copies of their twenty-first chromosome (instead of the normal two). It happens in about one out of every one thousand live births. It's associated with a number of developmental symptoms including mental retardation and physical growth impairment. It's certainly not something you would wish on anyone. Even Mr. Deity thinks it's awful.

By the end of last week, I had pretty much settled on my opinion. Basically that the human body had evolved a pretty solid quality assurance system, and that most fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities are aborted spontaneously (i.e. naturally). The evolved QA system isn't perfect though and some chromosomal aberrations evade termination and result in a live infant with a severe disability.

With maternal blood testing, placental sampling, and amniocentesis, an expectant mother can detect chromosomal abnormalities relatively early in the pregnancy and can willfully abort the fetus. Seemed pretty straightforward until yesterday morning. That was when I had the chance to meet with a few mothers who had children with Down Syndrome.

The first mother had three children, the oldest with down syndrome. She had not had an amniocentesis done (this is a prenatal procedure that can diagnose birth defects in the early stages of pregnancy). While she was pro-choice she said she was very happy that she hadn't had the amniocentesis because she probably would have aborted the fetus.

The second mother had five children. Her youngest had down syndrome. She also had not had an amniocentesis. She did have an early blood test that gave cause for concern but she was determined to have the baby no matter what the amnio test would have told her so, in her words "what would be the point?"

Hearing the rest of her story, though, the point seemed very clear in that neither she nor her family were prepared for the news that their new member was disabled. To be clear, I found both mothers impressive. I was truly astounded by the strength of each but especially in the second one. Most of us don't have real opportunity to test the lengths of our love. I mean, who would choose such a hard life? This would also didn't have a choice, but she certainly didn't flinch when her feet were put to the fire and I have a huge amount of respect for that.

One thing the second mother said was that nothing made her more angry than people treating her daughter differently, as if she were less than a full person. This is where I am going to break from the politically correct herd. I see their point.

Most people who get the benefit of government services, police, fire, garbage etc. do so with the understanding that the society as a whole is going to reap a reward for providing those services. That the individual will work and pay taxes and improve society. Down syndrome children not only need many more resources but their life expectancy and diminished productivity (due to mental retardation and a high risk of early-onset Alzheimer's disease). Economically speaking, a citizen with Down syndrome isn't as valuable as a citizen without it.

Not just that, but those afflicted with Down syndrome cost the government. Our first speaker told us that all the medical expenses for her DS child were paid for by the county. She also told us ways they would be able to manipulate the system so that he would be covered by medicaid until he was 21 years old. In other words, this couple chose not to have a screening test that would give them an option to abort an affected fetus.

It's true that there are ethical consequences to both sides of that decision, but choosing not to abort affects not only their family, but everyone who pays taxes. I'm not claiming that anyone would deliberately have a baby with DS to gouge their government, but the government does subsidize families that choose not to have an abortion. Despite this, the state gets no influence over the decision. It just struck me that both mothers felt they were owed this money, that the government was obligated to take responsibility for an unfortunate, but preventable, situation.

I sound like such a republican.