By Kurt Kondrich
Over the past five years more than 185 individuals with postnatal disabilities have been murdered by their parents, and on March 1 the disability community [gathered] across the nation to remember these victims of filicide—disabled people murdered by their family members or caregivers.
My beautiful daughter Chloe was born in 2003 with a postnatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, and as her father I am glad this tragedy is being brought to light in the public. During my wife’s pregnancy with Chloe we were asked and encouraged many times to have prenatal testing, and we were told that due to my wife’s age we were at a higher “risk” for having a child with Down syndrome. When I asked what the prenatal test would accomplish, I was told it would allow us to make a decision whether or not to keep our daughter if she had a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis—translated, we could kill her if we wanted. We declined all prenatal tests and shortly after Chloe’s entrance into this world we learned that our precious daughter had Down syndrome.
Not long after Chloe’s birth I learned that [more than] 90 percent of families who receive a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis choose the filicide option and terminate their child. Very little public attention is given to these victims who are eliminated by a misguided culture of death that views these individuals as flawed or imperfect. I have yet to read a news story where a person with Down syndrome commits homicide, suicide, or genocide, so why does our culture commit mass prenatal filicide on these individuals with an extra chromosome? Who are the truly disabled and defective ones?
Genetic screening is rapidly advancing, and one day in the not-too-distant future it may be possible for our lost society to commit filicide on all who fail the prenatal test for erroneous mandates of perfection. All of us are one accident, illness, or mishap away from becoming disabled, and shouldn’t we shine a light on and demand an immediate end to the filicide of disabled individuals postnatally and prenatally? Our world’s rapid descent into total darkness will never stop until we “embrace and not erase” our most priceless gift and resource—human life!
Kurt Kondrich is the father of a beautiful daughter who has Down syndrome and who has been a priceless blessing to his family and community. When Kurt became aware of the higher than 90 percent abortion rate for children prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome, he literally could not sleep at night. In early August 2008, he had a disturbing dream about people with disabilities being exterminated and, after praying, he came up with the name SADSIN (Stop Aborting Down Syndrome Individuals Now) for a website to defend and protect children with Down syndrome. He has since embarked on a mission to make sure people are aware of this genocide. He wants people to see the beautiful faces of our kids and realize the priceless blessings and gifts they are to a society that has lost focus.
This article has been reprinted with permission and can be found at renewamerica.com/columns/kondrich/160229.
