By Judie Brown
Congressman Trent Franks recently wrote about babies diagnosed with Down syndrome and their value to family and society. He understands this value firsthand because of his brother Bruce, who had Down syndrome and passed away 15 years ago. Franks wrote: “The poignancy of that loss and the pricelessness of my memories of him wash over my heart in this very moment. I remember that he wanted so badly for me to win the election and repeatedly told me with resolute certainty that I would. His prediction was especially significant in that it was shared by so few and by the fact that Bruce had Down syndrome.”
Franks goes on to discuss not only his deep love for his brother, but his awareness of what lurks behind the words of those who condone killing preborn babies with genetic problems. He writes: “The cultural Left has discovered a sterile, sure-fire method to deal with the physical and mental disabilities, poverty, over-population, and unwantedness in general: simply murder its victims behind closed doors, then safely rely upon their sympathizers in the media to extol their great ‘accomplishments’ for humanity.”
Of course Franks is correct on all counts, as evidenced by what the media has reported regarding Iceland’s kill rate and about expectant mothers who do not want their babies, no matter what. We see an example of this irresponsible journalism in Slate magazine’s staff writer Christina Cauterucci. She has alleged that pro-life people hijack the rhetoric of the disability rights movement when they express outrage about what has happened in Iceland. Furthermore, she asserts that pro-lifers want to criminalize abortion, not only for preborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, but in other cases as well. She is correct!
Cauterucci calls these pro-life goals nothing more than obstructions to a woman’s right to the constitutionally protected right to abortion. In addition, she is careful never to use the word baby when talking about the preborn child because she knows that talking about babies before birth would make it clear that abortion kills a person. God forbid that men and women finally understand that even though an act is allegedly a constitutionally protected right, that act can still be—as is the case with abortion—wrong and totally immoral.
So where do such rants about abortion rights leave those of us who, like Congressman Franks, understand that life is always a gift to cherish regardless of a diagnosis or a condition that may develop later in life? The answer is really quite simple. We continue to talk about babies and to talk about the miracles wrought by God’s special children—children like Valerio Catoia. Valerio and his father were at the beach recently when they witnessed two young girls drowning in the sea. Without hesitation, they jumped in and pulled them to safety. Valerio has Down syndrome, but that did not impede his ability to act heroically. Thank God his parents welcomed him into the world 17 years earlier!
And of course there is 14-year-old Chloe Kondrich, who recently met with Vice President Mike Pence and his wife. Along with her dad, Chloe has been a voice for children with Down syndrome for many years. As her father Kurt writes: “We are living in a moment of history where we will one day be judged by future generations and by our Creator for what we did or didn’t do to end this American Holocaust.”
Yes, we have countless reasons for talking about babies—both born and preborn—all of whom are God’s children and created in His image and likeness.
What can you do to end this holocaust? Pray for our nation. Teach your children the profound truths about the value and dignity of the human person. Use the CLSP tools to teach your children that abortion is wrong. And encourage all people to speak out and defend the vulnerable by becoming activists for life!
Do not sit and silently watch this holocaust unfold. Talk about babies!