If you were pregnant with a child that you knew would be born with birth defects, would you keep the baby, put it up for adoption, or have an abortion??

What kind of birth defects are you speaking of?
It wouldn't make any difference to me. I would keep the baby! No decision to make.

We had a 25% chance of a Down's syndrom child. We never considered abortion as an option.

Good for you and God bless.

I don't know if your child has Down's syndrom or not, but I do know three people who have children with Down's syndrom. They are a real asset to the family. One couple had considered abortion and now thank God they rejected it.

MT

for mouse's question about "what kind of birth defects the child would be born with".........J

Just any type of birth defect that would be abnormal for the child, or effect the child when they would get older....like maybe having to be in a wheelchair, or maybe even mentally challenged. Anything that was abnormal from how they should be.

I am a strong advocate of the woman's right to choose an abortion. However, unless I'm misunderstanding the statement, I find it wrong that something like a possibility of your child maybe having to be in a wheelchair of be mentally challenged would be a reason to abort an otherwise wanted child. I totally understand if there were going to be severe retardation or physical handicaps that would affect the quality of life-but I don't understand if it were a mental or physical challenge that wouldn't stop the child from living a full and happy life.

i think its wrong to get an abortion just because the child has birth defects. ok, and i'm not all up in the medical stuff, but how would you know if the baby has a birth defect if it isn't born yet? sure, the baby might have something wrong, but that doesn't make them any less of a person than you or me.

I think that it all depends on the type of effects, and how harmful to mother and child...

Nikkig, there are many prenatal tests that are done before having a baby. Blood tests, ultrasounds and aminocentiest. (Sp) To name a few. They can tell you the sex of the baby and if the baby is in trouble and the mom to be for that matter. Your right is doesn't make it a lesser person than you or I, but it would give the parents of that baby to be able to make decision to what would be the best interest for both the mother and fetus. I am not here to make that decision of those people but I think if they decided it would not be in the best interest of the baby or the mom to have the baby then abortion has to be an option.

this is my phrase :you make it you take it : keep the baby i wouldn't care iif the baby was deaf and blind...you made it now you take it!

With all the new technology that his been placed for us in the detection of a birth defect we can definitively take a very conscious decision whether to keep the baby or to get an abortion. If the parents decide to keep the baby it is probably the best decision for them...but is it the best decision for the well being of this little baby to be born?
Have we thought long enough about the pain he/she might go through, mentally or physically during his entire life? What will happen to this being once his/her parents are not around anymore, will he/she get the same loving care? etc..

In the mean time we can also do our very best as an individual in having a healthier life by avoiding all drugs and alcohol abuses and cigarettes since all of these are responsible for the alteration of our genes therefore producing more and more defect within our own genetic material and that we are passing through generations and generations. All life forms should have infinite respect and this respect for others start by ourselves. It takes 7 years to regenerate all the cells of our body therefore if takes a long time for the body to clean itself from our abuses.Knowing this we can really take a conscious decision. We can't be overcaution when it comes down to having a baby.

Satine

Is it OK to abort a child simply because it is female, or genetically predisposed to homosexuality?

Legally? Yes.

Morally? Well, individuals define their own morals. The right to an abortion means the right to an abortion for any reason. Sickening as some of the reasons may be, one has to take the good (actually having a choice) with the bad (people seemingly misusing that choice).

To answer the original question...

Honestly?

I don't know what I would do. I'd like to say that "Sure, I'd have the baby! No questions asked!". The reality is that maybe I can handle it, maybe I can't. Maybe I wouldn't want to handle it at that point in my life.

I wouldn't look down on someone for aborting or adopting out such a child either... you just don't know what another person can handle.

i would with out a doubt keep the baby!!! how could u not it's still your child!! and why do some people have to look at having a disabled child or a child with birth defects as something bad? yeah sure the parents are going to have a tough time but have u ever really noticed how sweet and kind most of these kids are?? i believe that these kids have something that all of us could really use and that is a bigger heart , have u noticed whenever u meet mentally challanged children how they go out of their way to open a door for u or how they just always seem to have a smile on their face and is alwayz sayin hi to someone and askin how that person is doin even when they don't knw eachother, to a lot of ppl when someone goes out of their way to do something as little as that can really make someones day.

Just modify the argument for abortion a little bit. Someone faced with the choice of whether or not to have an abortion is facing a choice between slavery and murder.

Someone faced with the choice of having a severely disabled child or an abortion is facing a choice between slavery+ or murder.

Anyone who views the choice that way will choose murder every time. That majority of the people out there face a much different choice that thankfully doesn't include abortion, that choice is "What are we going to name her/him?"

Note: I don't think abortion is murder. But at the very worst, that is what it is. At the very best it is a degrading intrusive operation that no woman undergoes lightly. And if my wife ever chooses to have an abortion, I know it isn't because she wants to have an abortion.

As for those praising children who have Downs Syndrome. Would you deliberately seek to create a child with Downs Symdrome? Why not?

Personally, it would depend upon the severity of the disability or deformity. I wouldn't resort to abortion in the case of, say, Down Syndrome or the necessity of a wheel chair; but if there were something serious enough to threaten the ability of the child later in life to live a productive, happy life then I would consider it an option.

I am, however a man, and would respectfully leave the final decision with my girlfriend or wife. Already faced with an abortion decision once in my life, my girlfriend of the time and I discussed our options and feelings and her final decision (which I supported) was not to see the pregnancy through.

If we had been in an alternate situation where she decided she wanted to see the pregnancy through, and we later found out that there were defects, I would again leave the decision with her. Why? Because while arguments may be made for the voice of a "father-to-be," it is the woman who must endure the 9 months of development in which to produce the child. While I might be willing to parent a disabled child (whatever the handicap), she may not. And more importantly, she may not be willing to sacrifice the 9 months of carriage to produce such a child, regardless of whether she wished to parent or give it to adoption.