By Dave Andrusko

When I wrote a piece earlier week about a series of three surveys conducted by doctors at Children’s Hospital in Boston that paint a very positive picture of the reality of Down syndrome that is overwhelmingly at odds with the negative picture painted for parents when a prenatal diagnosis is made, I received solid feedback. One of the responses to these results, published in the October edition of the American Journal of Medical Genetics, was to link me to a piece  that appeared on the pro-life website of The Public Discourse.

Written by Mark W. Leach, “Down Syndrome Awareness Makes a Difference” does a very nice job of summarizing the life-affirming results of the studies and gently but firmly rebutting the gloomy assertions of bioethicist Arthur Caplan which can be encapsulated in part of one sentence: That the studies will not “make a bit of difference to parents deciding to end pregnancies once [Down syndrome] is discovered in the fetus.”

Leach argues “Actual experience contradicts Caplan’s pessimism.”

I will not spoil the pleasure of reading Leach’s rebuttal. And it is very important that you read his thought processes in light of the grim realities that up to 90% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted and the use of a new blood test that will make recognition possible even earlier in the unborn baby’s life.

Suffice it to say that near the top of the list of actions that can be taken to turn this around is to share the overwhelmingly positive picture of how Down syndrome can affect individuals and families painted by the new studies.

For example, “Among 2,044 parents or guardians surveyed, 79 percent reported their outlook on life was more positive because of their child with Down syndrome,” writes Kimbery Hayes Taylor, a contributor to MSNBC.com.

Those surveys, whose lead study author is Dr. Brian Skotko, reveal that this positive response holds true “for a vast majority of parents, siblings and people with Down syndrome themselves.” Skotko, a clinical fellow in genetics at Children’s Hospital Boston, told Taylor he hopes the research on more than 3,000 Down syndrome patients and family members, will better inform not just expectant parents but also clinicians who are providing prenatal care.

Notice: parents AND clinicians, many of whom know next to nothing about the lives children and adults with Down syndrome live. And part of that remedial education is a series of wonderful books Leach cites in his essay.

Take five-to-seven minutes out to read “Down Syndrome Awareness Makes a Difference”