If ever we got into a discussion about genetic testing for children with Down Syndrome, my parents were always strictly on the, “I would abort it without a second thought,” side, which always saddened me. I was in a restaurant a few weeks ago, celebrating my birthday, and there was a young man of around the same age celebrating his birthday at the same time, who had Down’s Syndrome. This man was had three friends (who also had Down’s Syndrome), some people who appeared to be his parents, a young child and an older lady with him. And they all seemed to be having a fantastic time, laughing and talking; it looked like much more fun than I was having! And what a message to that little girl, too – these people may be “different”, but different does not equal bad or unworthy or any less of a person, and they should be treated with the respect they deserve, just like anyone else.

I would guess that many, many people live their lives in a less productive or more unhappy state than many people with Down Syndrome, ASDs, or any other kind of “disability”. Just because we are different it does not mean that we can’t be happy or fulfilled.

What an unaccepting society we would create, if all people with diagnosable disabilities were weeded out of the population.