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That's... complicated. There are multiple opinions about aborting fetuses that test positive for Down's syndrome. For one, the tests aren't always accurate. For
by yareal 2y ago
That's... complicated. There are multiple opinions about aborting fetuses that test positive for Down's syndrome. For one, the tests aren't always accurate. For two, people with Down's syndrome can live fulfilling lives, and have spoken out against the practice. But also it does place an additional burden on parents, and parenting well is already a hard job.
But I don't think it's a reasonable comparison -- autism has a much wider variability in how it expresses, from relatively benign (but still impactful) to fully incapable of self sufficiency.
I'd also argue just because we practice eugenics in case makes it ok to generalize to other cases (and furthermore, just because we practice it doesn't necessarily make it ok even in that case).
- lmz 2y agoRe: Down's case "not necessarily ok" People abort babies for reasons far less than "lifelong disability requiring constant care". I'm not saying it's done lightly but surely that kind of issue is as valid a reason as any.
- yareal 2y agoI'm pro abortion, I think it's reasonable for a parent to say, "I'm not equipped to deal with this". But I'm also extremely sensitive to people saying, "an entire category of person like me is disappearing due to eugenics". I think it's important to understand and acknowledge the tension between those two positions and recognize that it's not a simple problem.