{"id":5545,"date":"2012-02-21T14:07:09","date_gmt":"2012-02-21T19:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=5545"},"modified":"2012-02-21T14:58:13","modified_gmt":"2012-02-21T19:58:13","slug":"my-wife-and-i-chose-prenatal-testing-does-that-make-us-bad-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2012\/02\/21\/my-wife-and-i-chose-prenatal-testing-does-that-make-us-bad-people\/","title":{"rendered":"My wife and I chose prenatal testing. Does that make us bad people?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last couple of weeks, presidential candidate Rick Santorum has questioned whether prenatal testing and amniocentesis are moral medical procedures.\u00a0 He’s suggested that they tools designed, in large measure, to enable abortion.<\/p>\n

And he believes the government should play no role in helping poor and underprivileged families pay for the procedures.\u00a0 “Free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions,” Santorum argues.<\/p>\n

It turns out I know something about this issue.<\/p>\n

When my wife Susan got pregnant a decade and a half ago, she was 41 years old.\u00a0 Our doctor made it clear at the time that amniocentesis and prenatal tests were the responsible way to go, reflecting the view of the vast majority of medical experts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At our age, having a baby wasn’t exactly a daredevil stunt, but it came with risks.\u00a0 Knowing all the facts wasn’t just medically proper.\u00a0 In our judgment, it was the right moral choice for our family.<\/p>\n

Along the way, as we discussed, deliberated, and educated ourselves, I learned quite a bit about what prenatal testing does (and doesn’t) do.<\/p>\n

First, Santorum is correct that amniocentesis can help identify a wide range of genetic problems.\u00a0 And some doctors do encourage abortions if the fetus is seriously compromised.<\/p>\n

Studies suggest that between 85 and 95 percent <\/a>of women who find their their fetuses have Down syndrome choose to end their pregnancy.<\/p>\n

But it’s important to point out that this choice is one that is made by private citizens, by parents, by people of faith, by men and women, and by parents.<\/p>\n

It’s not the government, it’s not politicians, and it’s not some faceless medical bureaucracy.\u00a0 This isn’t China’s one child policy, or Nazi Germany’s search for racial purity.<\/p>\n

This is just average Americans navigating painful and complicated moral terrain and making their own, independent decisions.<\/p>\n

Those parents who choose to bring the fetus to term, raising a child with challenges and special needs, obviously have an equal right to make that informed, moral decision.<\/p>\n

If I were interviewing Rick Santorum, I would ask him to be as blunt and plain about this as possible:<\/p>\n

Should all families, regardless of class or income level, have the opportunity to diagnose serious illnesses during pregnancy, so they can make choices with the best available information?<\/p>\n

Should they be forced to continue with pregnancies against their will, even if a fetus is significantly disabled or severely compromised?<\/p>\n

I would also ask him to explain why his moral outlook should trump the thinking of the overwhelming majority of Americans who — according to the best studies and Santorum’s own admission — are now making a very different choice.<\/p>\n

It’s also important to point out one place where Santorum simply has his facts wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmniocentesis does, in fact, result more often than not in this country in abortions,\u201d Santorum said, speaking on Face the Nation last Sunday. \u201cThat is a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Actually, it’s not.\u00a0 In most cases, amniocentesis finds no abnormalities or disorders.\u00a0 It simply provides parents with peace of mind.<\/p>\n

In many other cases, treatable issues are found that warrant immediate medical care, including infections and RH incompatibility and lung immaturity in children who need to be delivered prematurely.<\/p>\n

Here’s what the non-profit group March of Dimes <\/a>has to say on the subject:<\/p>\n

In most cases, amnio test results show that a baby is healthy and without birth defects. If the test shows that your baby does have a birth defect, talk to your provider about your options.<\/p>\n

For example, your baby may be able to be treated with medicines or even surgery before birth. Or there may be treatments or surgery he can have after birth.<\/p>\n

Knowing about a birth defect before birth may help you get ready emotionally to care for your baby. You also can plan your baby\u2019s birth with your health care provider. This way, your baby can get any special care she needs right after she is born.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It turned out that our son Nicholas was healthy.\u00a0\u00a0 What would my family have done if the tests had turned up major problems? As things stand, under current law, that’s our business, and no one else’s.<\/p>\n

If Rick Santorum has his way, would this still be a private moral choice?\u00a0 Or would the government decide this for us?\u00a0 That’s another question I hope he will find time to answer before the campaign is done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the last couple of weeks, presidential candidate Rick Santorum has questioned whether prenatal testing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4803,20],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5545"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5558,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5545\/revisions\/5558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}