The pain of advocacy

Today has been emotionally challenging. Why? I've met quite a bit of opposition in my attempts to advocate for babies/children/individuals with Down syndrome.

First, I posted online about the movement to stop the use of the "R" word (www.r-word.org). Many people argued and defended their "right" to use the word, saying that people should "think things through before being offended." Despite my explaining to them that the word can be very hurtful to many people, they seemed more concerned with their rights to use whatever language they choose.

Next, I read something one woman wrote. She said, in so many words, that choosing to abort a baby with some sort of prenatal diagnosis (Down syndrome, etc.) was no different than choosing to discontinue life support on a dying baby. As you can imagine, this comment made my blood pressure rise a bit. How can anyone truly believe those two things are the same?

Finally, I came across something written by a young pregnant mother that I "know" online. She had prenatal testing that showed an increased chance of her baby having Down syndrome. I shared my story (Gabby's story) with her. I told her how God had worked through Gabby and how He had given her to me - a miracle in every way. This woman seemed open to the idea of learning more about Down syndrome. So I helped her with info and pointed her in the right direction. Then, today I see that she had diagnostic testing done and got a confirmed Down syndrome diagnosis. She has chosen to abort her baby because she doesn't want to bring a "sick" and "suffering" child into this world. She has no idea whether or not her child has any actual health problems (too early in the pregnancy to tell), but she assumes there WILL be problems that will make the child "suffer." So she's made the choice to end the child's life. This is soooooo hard for me to comprehend. And it is hard for me to see others giving her a virtual pat on the back and telling her what a wonderful thing she is doing for her child and how she must be an incredibly strong woman to make such a difficult but "necessary" decision and "save" her poor baby from a horrible life.

Yes, it has been a hard day. Some days I just want to give up this advocacy thing and tune it all out, pretending all is well. But I cannot. I will not. God wants me to do this, and so I will.