The Works of God

I deeply appreciate when those who don’t live with disability speak out on it.

In this blog post from several years ago, Denny Burk, succinctly unpacks a significant cultural problem as evidenced in a New York Times article on abortion and Down syndrome:

There is a real problem with how this piece frames the issue and what’s at stake in our culture. The article suggests that it is a “cultural skirmish over where to draw the line between preventing disability and accepting human diversity.” But what thinking person could possibly describe the conflict in this way. This clash is not about “preventing disability.” That’s a euphemism that every rational person should reject. It’s about whether or not we should execute disabled persons before they can become a “burden” to their parents and society.

On this issue Christians must offer a prophetic word to the culture. All people are created in God’s image (including people with Down Syndrome) and are thereby to be treated with the dignity that God commands towards those who bear His image. To kill innocent humans because they are inconvenient or unwanted is an assault on the image of God.

Amen.