Santorum Challanges Policy On Prenatal Testing

[Elle]

Sadly, I've known a couple couples who opted to abort when an amnio confirmed conditions they knew they could not pay for, and since government support for severely disabled children isn't always so great (sometimes there's no support, other times severely disabled children get support beyond what most would deem reasonable, such as daily therapy for several months to learn to tie shoes, but it just depends on where you are), the likelihood of neglect was great, and they knew that. Women don't usually carry pregnancies that far if they didn't want them. Yes, some women have used pregnancies to control men, and aborted late when they didn't get what they wanted. Those are really the minority, and those women would have sucked as mothers.

Rick needs to focus on WHY woman are having abortions and combat those issues. Lack of support for disabled babies, an inability to access reliable birth control, etc., and while I personally believe don't have sex if you aren't willing to raise or adopt out a baby, even I know that's not a reasonable expectation. He is not reasonable. He's attacking the result of the problem rather than the root of the problem.

[Vex]

I can't help but fail to understand why people oppose universal healthcare. I guess because I've always had it, and it works just fine in my country? If everyone had access to free birth control and amnios were paid for, surely there would be fewer abortions? I'd love to know where he gets his infromation that 'most' amnios end in abortion. I know plenty of people who have had them, and none of them wanted to abort - some of the time it was just to work out why the baby wasn't growing properly, and other times it was because they had a history of a certain genetic condition in their family and they wanted to know if the baby had it so they could have time to prepare. Elle mentions people getting abortions after amnios because they couldn't afford the condition - which wouldn't be nearly such a big issue with universal health care.

I've never been more glad to not be American right now. The level of Big Brother-like intrusion people are considering allowing is just crazy.

[MonkeyMomma]

Frothy disgusts me. He simply can not see past his nose.

Diagnostic tests are useful REGARDLESS of whether termination is an option or not. For those who do not consider termination to be an option - a prenatal diagnosis can help tremendously in planning. For example: a serious defect is detected - the patient may choose to deliver in a tertiary care centre with a NICU or a serious genetic disorder is detected - the parents now have the opportunity to gather information, speak to other parents of children with the same disorder, organize their house (if special equipment/nursing care etc might be needed) or it may just give the parents a chance to accept/mentally process the diagnosis. All of these are hugely useful. Not every parent chooses abortion when faced with serious fetal abnormality but every parent could do with more information so that they may make the choice that is best for them.

This was pretty much my exact response when I saw him on Face the Nation, except with a lot more profanity thrown in. What tears it for me is that yes, he has a daughter with Trisomy 18 (I think) ... but they had the luxury of prenatal testing to prepare for her birth and subsequent care AND excellent healthcare as a former member of congress to provide for her needs (funded by the taxpayers to boot!). All for Santorum, none for the rest of us!

[Boltingmadonna]

What tears it for me is that yes, he has a daughter with Trisomy 18 (I think) ... but they had the luxury of prenatal testing to prepare for her birth

This!! WTF--he not only had prenatal testing for his daughter with Trisomy 18, but he also had extensive prenatal screening for his son Gabriel who was born prematurely and died, after prenatal testing revealed he had a lethal genetic malformation. They actually had intra-uterine surgery to correct the defect, but his wife developed a life-threatening infection from the surgery and went into early labor. So he has used prenatal screening at least twice. Oh, but he did it the RIGHT way and he thinks the rest of us are evil and undeserving and would do it WRONG--unlike him. He is such a self-righteous ass.

[StarrieEyedKat]

...since government support for severely disabled children isn't always so great (sometimes there's no support, other times severely disabled children get support beyond what most would deem reasonable, such as daily therapy for several months to learn to tie shoes, but it just depends on where you are)...

Scuze me for a sec while I go off topic, but while I agree that funding is not so great in a lot of areas, I don't think it's unreasonable for disabled children to get daily therapy support to help learn life skills (while it can take months for a child with special needs to learn how to tie their shoes, that's not all they're getting help with. They're also learning every other daily task that you and millions of other people need to function, so it's not something that can be touched on once a week for an hour.) I work as one of those therapists that's paid by the state and I don't know how else you expect these children to learn those things. Your condescending shoe tying comment sounds a lot like "well, all the therapist does is play with her, so it's not like she's learning anything."

[Witsec7]

To all the international posters:

I will be seeking employment as a cook/housekeeper if Frothy gets elected. Necessary wages will be minimal. I will do windows. No childcare, but pet care is ok.

Drop me a p.m. and I'll work on getting the necessary visas.

[emmiedahl]

Scuze me for a sec while I go off topic, but while I agree that funding is not so great in a lot of areas, I don't think it's unreasonable for disabled children to get daily therapy support to help learn life skills (while it can take months for a child with special needs to learn how to tie their shoes, that's not all they're getting help with. They're also learning every other daily task that you and millions of other people need to function, so it's not something that can be touched on once a week for an hour.) I work as one of those therapists that's paid by the state and I don't know how else you expect these children to learn those things. Your condescending shoe tying comment sounds a lot like "well, all the therapist does is play with her, so it's not like she's learning anything."

No shit. I am related in a very complicated way to a little girl with 1p36 deletion. Everything she learns to do is hard-won, and it will save the taxpayers money in the long run because she will be a more independent adult. I guess I am not "pro-life" enough to comprehend why this little one deserves less than the best life she can have.

[Witsec7]

So Frothy wants to eliminate BC, add to at risk pregnancies and yet not have ins. coverage to detect those risks? More fuckery.