I was just checking the news. Then my blood started to boil.
I was looking over The New York Times on Friday morning. They recommended an article based on my reading interests: British Conservatives Play the Abortion Card.
And there it was:
The combination of Mr. Hunt’s critical role as health secretary and his preference for a dramatic reduction in the time frame (for when abortions would be legally allowed) made his comments particularly sensitive — not least because a 12-week limit would prevent testing for many fetal anomalies like Down syndrome, which cannot be detected during early pregnancy.
Implied: we need more time to kill the ones we don’t want. And we don’t want the ones with Down syndrome.
Here’s my reply, much edited because in my anger I wasn’t very careful when I first began writing:
I’m grateful to God for the boys and girls and men and women with Down syndrome I have met and gotten to know. They have made my life better, my church stronger, and God’s world more beautiful. When God gave them that extra chromosome he knew exactly what he was doing for his glory and for our good.
That does not make it easy – the physical and cognitive and emotional and financial issues are significant and change the trajectory of any family that experiences Down syndrome. God is stronger.
For Collin and Mia and William and Jonathan and Eli and Levi and Kyle, and all the people with Down syndrome I’ll remember later, you are valuable to me and I am grateful to God for you. I know your parents love you and long for you to know the God who made you. Because of you, ministries have been birthed, churches have changed for the better, and God has shown his strength and kindness and goodness in magnificent ways.
We will not let The New York Times or anybody else imply horrible things about you that are not true. You mattered before you were born, and you matter now.
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. The National Down Syndrome Society has created some great resources to help us see real people who happen to live with Down syndrome. If this secular organization can speak so well to this issue, may God give his church even greater enthusiasm, creativity, care and excitement about welcoming and including the gifts of his creation with Down syndrome!
Thank you for this John. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. And a big thank you and smile from Mia 🙂
Awesome post. Thank you for this.
I don’t think your implication is correct on his statement. I read it several times because you thought it implied to abort children with Downs. The article says that the law is currently 24 weeks, some want it reduced to 20 weeks but this person wants it reduced to 12 weeks. My wife was offered the exam at 16 weeks for both our kids but we declined because we would love them no matter what. How I read the article is that he was implying to reduce the time frame so that there would not be a bias in the decision of anomalies with the birth. If the exam could not be ran and the law was to go full term after 12 weeks then the child would be given a chance at life. Grace and Peace
Thanks for the gracious reply!
I have no quarrel with the Health Minister.
Rather, The New York Times (and other publications) present a problem with the limit: testing comes AFTER the opportunity to abort. This is only a problem if we assume abortion is the preferred choice.
We have gone over the course of years from couples making “difficult” decisions to it being normalized in articles like this. Don’t take my word for it; watch for how it is presented in news articles.
We must not let comments like this just slide by; we must make the implications clear.
Mr. Knight, I am not a regular reader or follower of this site–that is to say I don’t know if this is the place to provide feedback of this nature. But just as you were upset over the implication in the article that suggested “we can kill the ones we don’t want”…I am concerned when you speak in terms of “God gave them that extra chromosome” that the implication is that a disability is not really a result of children born in a sinful, fallen world. But instead that it is somehow God’s original plan for some of our children to be disabled. I am not really sure that was your intention…and I notice that you end the article beautifully that we welcome and include all God’s gifts of creation….even those with disabilities. None of this diminishes the impact of your article and I thank you for taking time to write and to share your thoughts with us.
Thanks for your comment! The fall and continued rebellion against our Holy God has brought great suffering.
And God is still in charge, even over disability.
Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Exodus 4:11
2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:2-3
Watch our conference on this subject next week! Info here: http://www.desiringgod.org/events/regional-conferences/2012-minneapolis
Dan, that’s correct – Mr. Hunt does want the time frame reduced to before the opportunity for testing. The NY Times is saying, or implying others have said, that people should have the opportunity to do these tests within the legal timeframe to abort.
As a minister whose ministry includes daily work with those who have a disability, with a special education teacher wife alongside, I’ll say here what I’ve said numerous times: God’s glory is most-easily seen in those precious image bearers who have a disability. If God is pleased to open one’s eyes to see that glory, it is truly intoxicating—can’t get enough. May that eye-opening be our prayer for those who see these children as damaged-goods worthy of throwing away. For man to try to snuff-out this marvelous manifestation of glory grieves my heart all the way to the cross, where I must go with my anger, bitterness, and disappointment.
My family embraces, as a dear friend and brother, a young man with severe disabilities. He has a ministry of which he’s unaware – bringing joy, happiness and a therapeutic effect to our family. I have been moved, blessed and convicted by your story and the subsequent teaching – especially 1 Cor 12:21-23. All are valuable and indispensable to the Body of Christ.
Thanks to you and your church for leading out in “Christ-way” of viewing others.
I am a mother of a baby with specials need, he was born with VATERS ASSOCIATION which means according to the scientist that it’s a virus that affected my child during his early development. The name of this disease stands up and affects the part of the body according to the letter of it..
i will try to explain it so you have a better understanding of what it is; i am not doing this because i think you don’t have intelligence; but for me when my baby Angel Isaac was born it was very difficult to understand even though I am a strong believer and deeply in love with God.
So Here it is:
V stands for Vertebral (which means the part of the body that will be
affected).
A stands for Annal organ that it is affected.
T stands for Trachea organ that it is affected.
E stands for Esophagus organ that is affected.
R stands for Renal organ that is affected.
Other complications that will come with it are:
Heart
Limbs
When he was born it was very hard for the doctors to give me a final name for his disease because doctors said that it happens one in a million or something similar.
Anyways; for me to have this baby it was the biggest blessing i have ever had in my life, even as a Christian there were times when i asked God why me? what i did wrong?, and honestly i got upset with Him, but his grace and mercy was always there for me to forgive me. When i saw him suffering and going trough so much struggle and pain still i leaned to trust and seek more for God..
God taught me to establish a very close relationship with Him and i needed Him most of all,because i realized that He knew every single thing that was going on in my baby’s life as well as in his little body; Psalms 139 tells us that He knows us even before we were born, and i also knew that GOD stated that He will never give us a burden where we were unable to support,;HE said that he will take that burden with HIM and make a blessed way for us to accomplish with everything related to it. In Romans 8:28 SAYS : And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, so i hold on to that promise.
.
So i begged him to be with me all the times and also asked for wisdom on making decisions that will affect my son and He not only did that but use my son’s life to testify his glory to all nations. My son had partial VATERS Assoc,he was affected in his Vertebral (scoliosis), Esophagus my son’s Esophagus was the shortest seen by his doctor; and God made it grow more that he needed, He put extra, my son was not going to be able to talk because according to the doctor one of the nerves where his vocal cords were supported by was paralyzed, but for the glory of God he Talked and sang praises to the Almighty God of Israel.
He also had complication with his hearth instead of being in the right side, my son’s heart was in the center and the principals valves were all misplaced but worked perfectly. My son also had limbs complications in one of his arm and fingers but God was trough all the process of his manifesting his Glory.
I agree with John Knight were he is referring those bible verses to us, just to remind us that God is Good, and He loves and cares for us.
And God is still in charge, even over disability.
Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Exodus 4:11
2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:2-3
So Yes i support life, because God is life, and He has a purpose for everything, and He is in control of all.
My son went to be with The Lord when he was 3 years and 5 months but he was a real angel in my life, he was anointed,and all he wanted was to be with Jesus because he loved him so much, and Isaac told me when e was going to meet with Jesus, as a mother i cried, but we laugh and rejoice in God because The Holy Spirit revealed me that he was going to be in the presence of the Lord and i thought to myself well this is what are meant to be.
Thank you for reading part of my life that impacted me in such a way that no matter what I love Jesus, I am in love with mi Jeshua.