It’s pretty clear
that in many disability organizations the D-word is thumbs up and
the R-word is the opposite. In other words, the Democratic Party
is held up with esteem and the Republican Party receives little in
the way of respect, contributions or the hope for effective governance.
After reading the articles, “Down syndrome organization has
concerns about new parental testing policy” and “Baghdad
atrocities on people with disabilities condemned,” along with
other political commentary in the February edition of Access Press,
it seems to be an appropriate time for people with disabilities and
their advocates to consider what exactly the GOP is fighting for in
this year’s political standoff.
One of the issues the GOP fights for is RESPECT for LIFE from conception
to natural death. That is, most in the party seek to let pre-born people
live and protect vulnerable, born people from euthanized death.
It’s often thought that the Democratic Party values life by
promoting government-funded programs for people who are disabled. That’s
why so many disability organizations support Democratic candidates.
The problem with this argument is: you must first be BORN to get their
support, and many Democrats support a women’s right to choose,
which opens up the option of abortion.
Across the aisle, isn’t the Republican Party the party that
will truly support the National Down Syndrome Congress’ position
that “individuals with Down syndrome have innate worth and should
be treated with dignity and respect”? Yes, it is.
The sorry fact is that
by 2006, 80% of babies diagnosed in utero with Down syndrome were
aborted. With that one simple appalling statistic, we begin see
the plight of fetuses with Down syndrome and other pre-born human
beings that don’t quite meet many in our society’s
perception of a life worth living.
Like so many people
with disabilities throughout history, fetuses identified as being
defective through prenatal testing are targets for extermination.
That’s nothing new. In ancient Greek
and Roman societies, babies were birthed, but then those with disabilities
were abandoned and left to die.
As far back as Plato and Aristotle, discourse about humans with deformities
had already begun. Aristotle, 380-327 B.C., contemplated the concept
of a perfect body and an imperfect one. He described the imperfect
body as being deformed, mutilated, monstrous, and deviant; in modern
terms, disabled.
Exterminating people, one way or another, simply because they are
perceived as imperfect, and thus worthless, has been around for a long
time. Sadly, the exploitation of the individuals with Down syndrome
used as human drones in Iraq is a deplorable, current-day example of
it.
But deplorable too,
in my opinion, is the termination of pre-born human life; an extermination
made possible because technology has given ill-informed or misguided
individuals an easy opportunity to quietly rid the world of “their
problem.”
So as this political
season heats up, don’t take
a narrow perspective. Think outside your own disability box. Please
consider all the issues relevant to people with disabilities. Look
across the aisle and consider what both political parties are doing
for the well-being of ALL people with disabilities. ![]()
