By Kurt Kondrich
For the past several weeks the nation has been focused and absorbed with the George Zimmerman trial. This trial ended on 7/13/13 when a “not guilty” verdict was rendered by the jury after much evidence and testimony was presented in the courtroom. Another trial was also occurring [recently] involving an unborn child who was facing the death penalty for the cultural violation of having an extra chromosome.
On Monday 7/8/13 I received an e-mail originating from a church in Virginia stating: “There is a couple in another state who have contacted an adoption agency looking for a family to adopt their Down syndrome unborn baby. If a couple has not been found by today they plan to abort the baby.” I immediately called the church, and I was overwhelmed with joy to hear that hundreds of people had already called to adopt this child, and the phones had not stopped ringing! I immediately thanked God for this incredible outpouring of love for the most precious, priceless gift God has given us—LIFE. This unborn child had committed no crime, but had been targeted for termination for not meeting the criteria of “normal and healthy” by a culture that classifies certain unborn children as “defective” and eliminates them.
Unlike the highly publicized Zimmerman trial, this proceeding had very little media coverage even though this child was completely innocent. This human being was given an extremely small window of time to receive a death sentence “pardon,” and thank God a jury of over 1000 people rendered a “not guilty” verdict and sentenced this child with Down syndrome to LIFE. Some societies identify, target, and eliminate an unborn child for the violation of being female, and I have not heard any outcry or seen media coverage from those who claim to champion and defend women’s rights. Maybe we need a new group of prenatal activists who will stand up for unborn women? As prenatal genetic testing rapidly advances, the question needed to be asked is this: Will other unborn children who violate cultural mandates for misguided normalcy and perfection also be identified and eliminated for the offense of having autism, depression, ADHD, brown eyes, shortness, and the list goes on?
My beautiful daughter Chloe was born in 2003 with the incredible gift of having Down syndrome, and she has done nothing but shine light, love, and eternal hope into this lost world. In 10 years the evidence I have gathered and observed clearly leads me to the verdict that Chloe can and never will intentionally hurt anyone, and she is not capable of criminal intent or malice. Why then are [more than] 90 percent of children diagnosed prenatally with Down syndrome given a death sentence without ever receiving a trial by jury? I desperately try to relay the facts and evidence about children like Chloe on a daily basis, but a [more than] 90 percent death judgment shows there is much work to do and very little time to do it—truly a LIFE or death matter!
Isn’t it time we start to examine the evidence and facts about the silent eugenic movement against unborn children whose only wrongdoing is [that] they have an extra chromosome, are female, or are not viewed as “normal”? Would there be media coverage and outrage if a prenatal test for homosexuality were developed and then used to identify and eliminate these unborn children? If we can judge, convict, and eliminate a human being prenatally, then why not make a postnatal judgment once the person can be classified as “defective”? Look into the mirror and we all will see a “defective” person, and God who created the universe and entered this world in the flesh to save us all has made very clear His verdict on human life: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart” (Jeremiah 1:5).
Kurt Kondrich is the father of a beautiful daughter who has Down syndrome and who has been a priceless blessing to his family and community. When Kurt became aware of the higher than 90 percent abortion rate for children prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome, he literally could not sleep at night. In early August 2008, he had a disturbing dream about people with disabilities being exterminated and, after praying, he came up with the name SADSIN (Stop Aborting Down Syndrome Individuals Now) for a web site to defend and protect children with Down syndrome. He has since embarked on a mission to make sure people are aware of this genocide. He wants people to see the beautiful faces of our kids and realize the priceless blessings and gifts they are to a society that has lost focus.
This article has been reprinted with permission and can be found at http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/kondrich/130714.