2 ms·

I know when my wife and I found out we were having a baby. The first appointment we had with a doctor (in the U.S.) was a screening for literally anything we we

I know when my wife and I found out we were having a baby. The first appointment we had with a doctor (in the U.S.) was a screening for literally anything we were at risk for. We ended up telling some people we we're doing that and they freaked out (my parents included). We really don't understand why everyone doesn't get these tests. We're both Libertarians, but even agree the government should probably offer these tests free to reduce the burden on society (as the test we did cost around $250 - checking for downs). More importantly though, we didn't understand why people freak out. The sociatial pressures not to get test(s) like this done are insane. Even one (of our several) doctors / nurses were trying to convince us from doing it... Sure I understand some people think abortion can be bad, but isn't bringing a troubled human being in the world just as bad (rhetorical question)?

celticninja 9y ago
I'm not even sure it matters that you are libertarian. It is just common sense to me that you would test for something like this because even if you weren't thinking of abortion of a child has a disability the they will require different type of care from the minute they are born, and in some cases even earlier.
throwaway148 9y ago
> but isn't bringing a troubled human being in the world just as bad I am a person with a congenital disorder, Spina Bifida, and it's usually recommended to do an abortion if such anomaly was discovered at the early stages of pregnancy. But I can tell you that I'm glad my parents chose the other way and I'm glad that I'm alive. Sure, life can be tough at times, but can anyone really say that life is easy? So I agree that there's no easy answer to that question.