Down syndrome and abortion, Bristol Palin, and me (plus a book giveaway)

Some of you may know that Bristol Palin has recently joined the roster of Patheos bloggers. Some of you may also know that Bristol and I have at least one other thing in common–she has a brother with Down syndrome who is close in age to Penny. So I noticed when she wrote about Down syndrome and abortion a few weeks ago: Stand with the 8%. For a long time, I thought Bristol (and many many others who write about this topic) was correct in saying that 92% of babies conceived with Down syndrome are aborted. But recently I’ve discovered that I was wrong, so I wrote Bristol an email to tell her what I’ve learned. She graciously responded with a follow up post–“So How Many Babies with Down Syndrome are  Actually Aborted?” in which she quotes my email:

. . . out of all babies conceived with DS, 50% are actually born. Still a terrible reality that 50% are aborted, but a much better situation than the 8% number implies.

I think it’s important to get the accurate numbers out there so that women who are facing decisions about prenatal testing and abortion recognize that they are not alone if they decide to forgo the testing and/or keep the baby with DS. There are thousands of other women making the same decision who want to support them and love their babies.

Click here to read Bristol’s full post, including more of my email to her.

In addition, the Faith and Family Channel here on Patheos is running a review by Anna Quinn of A Good and Perfect Gift alongside a book giveaway. To enter to win a free copy, all you have to do is comment on the review by noon on May 31st (Thursday).