Why is it that people are so obsessed with testing for Downs syndrome, when there are so many other disabilities which cannot be tested for, that are far, far worse?

[wannaBe]

It baffles me.

When we fall pregnant we are offered tests, and scans, most, although not all of which relate to the detection of Downs Syndrome.

At 12 weeks we are offered a nuchal fold scan to determine the likelyhood of the baby having downs, and women over 35 are routinely offered anmio to detect whether the baby has downs.

92% of pregnancies where Downs is detected are terminated .

And yet there are lots of other disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, autism, other disabilities which cause learning difficulties, which cannot be detected in utero, but which can be much, much worse than downs.

So what is it about Downs that is so scary?

Or would people have far more stressful pregnancies if all disabilities could be tested for, and would they feel that they had to be sure their baby would be perfect?

see pc not cp and it keeps posting over and over

see pc not cp and it keeps posting over and over

see pc not cp and it keeps posting over and over

see pc not cp and it keeps posting over and over

Do walk away fivecandles. This thread is not good for you - you sound very upset. People in general will stay away from this thread because it is so heated and polarised, and because it's hard to post without seeming mean. As it happens I don't think you seem like a horrible person, and it is obviousl from the stats that obviously lots of people feel very strongly that they would prefer not to have the downsides of a child with SN/illness/disability if there is a choice. Having a child with SN, and more particularly having a child with severe SN or a horrible illness can involve a lot of hard work, worry, and unhappiness - perhaps more or less depending on your personality - no matter how much you love and adore your child. People who terminate for Downs and other conditions are I guess afraid of having to give up their job because of lack of suitable childcare, of having problems with society, education etc, and the most important issue, the sheer worry about what will happen to the child when they are gone. So people will always opt for termination for those reasons - particularly, I feel, the last one. Of course nearly everyone loves their children when they are born, SN/disability or not, and love them just the same. However, people usually don't 'love' their foetus in the same way as they love their child, so for most people having a termination is very different to wishing away a child who is here. Some people are strongly opposed to abortion full stop, fthers don't think termination is anything like killing a baby. I think all these issues have got very muddled on this thread.
FWIW, I know I would love a child with disabilities, but I wouldn't actively want to have a child with disabilities. I have a child with comparitively mild SN myself (ie bright, physically pretty healthy etc) and find it a bit of a struggle sometimes for all sorts of reasons.
I'm just rambling, but I think I'm saying that I don't think FC is saying you can't be happy with a child with disablities at all or that disabled kids aren't valuable people - just that some people might believe that it would be too much for them, and they are entitled to make that decision, and other people are saying that if people really knew the reality of parenting a child with SN then they would be less scared and fewer people would terminate, which also seems to be true. It doesn't seem worth fighting about like this though.