If you were a pregnant woman, and a test was done on your unborn baby showing it would be born retarded ...?

Question

... What would you do?

Answer 1

abort it. all through history cultures have had ways for getting rid of "different" babies. and you can say that you will love it forever, but are you mentally strong enough to handle it. do you have good insurance to cover any special needs or are you gonna live in poverty? will your partner be strong enough to handle all of that?

Answer 2

First I don't think calling the child "retarded" is politically correct. I would completely harm someone for calling my child retarded.
Every child has a chance at life and to terminate the pregnancy would be selfish and a feeble attempt to play God.
It is not the unborn childs fault for being mentally or physically ill. It has to do with genetics, the use of alcohol or drugs while pregnant, maternal malnutrition, certain environmental toxins and/or STD's that are not treated during pregnancy. You cannot blame a child for things that are predominatey preventable if the parents take the correct steps.

Answer 3

Because I was in my later thirties when pregnant with my second child I had to go through all the genetic counseling and tests (skipped the amnio). They did tell me I was at a greater risk of having a baby with Downs Syndrome. I knew then that I wanted her to be healthy, but I would have her either way. I had several specific ultrasounds and they all showed that the spinal cord and brain were closed and perfectly normal. So, I was sure that she woud not have Downs. The genetics doctor told me that of it were his wife, based on what he saw he would have her forego the amnio because he was certain that she was healthy and "normal." She was/is.

I think all handicapped children are a blessing to everyone who's lives they touch. If for no other reason than to silently point out how blessed you are to be healthy.

Answer 4

To begin with personally, I have had a child and am currently pregnant with my second child. I don't agree with the amnio test, the way I see things that I love my babies either way with downs syndrome or not I would have it. Life would be very hard for sure, but I could never take the life from anyone, much less my unborn child.

Answer 5

Honestly , not all test are right! My son is now 20 yrs old and when I was seven months pregnant my doctor told us that he was going to be mentally re tarted, he was so wrong! My son is 6'4" and is smarter then most! I wish you all the luck in the world! Also always remember even if your child is born with this ,this is your child no matter what! I think you would probably love the baby even more!

Answer 6

The depends on the severity of the retardation and or physical handicap. If the child has no chance of survival outside the womb, then I would pray that God forgave me, and would unfortuantly have an abortion.

bur if the child has a chance of survival, I would have the child and probably give her up for adoption. I know that no matter how much I love that child, i do not have the skill or ability to care of a handicaped child.

Answer 7

This is a most difficult question However, think of the everlasting physical care that will be needed,with no let up. Given a choice now of terminating, and thereby relieving another human of a lifetime of suffering, I would make that decision. Do you want to be blamed for another indivuals unhappy lifetime, with the knowing that you could have prevented it? Love, is consideration of another's well being, which in this case requires strength of will on your part. Sincere best wishes.

Answer 8

I would keep it. It would be very heart breaking and frustrating to know that my baby will have a mental disability but I would do my best to give it a good life, to nurture and love it and to bring it up so that his/her capabilities are all that they can be. It is wrong to get rid of a baby simply because it won't be 'normal', I hate that word. It's very subjective, but I think others will understand what I mean. However it is also possible for those tests to be wrong, my aunt was told that her baby would have spina bifida and it turned out that she was a normal healthy baby. Anything is possible, my advice would be to get information and support from those you love and trust. A mental health counselor/psychologist can also be a big help.

Answer 9

i had a screening for Down's syndrome and the other prob. My husband and I discussed it and we decided to do it, to alert us to the fact that we may have been in the high risk category. Before we got the results we decided if there was a problem we were blessed by being able to conceive this child (a lot of couples cant!) and we would love it no matter what. We were just preparing ourselves if necessary and to give us time to research on the problem. The child is a part of both of us no matter what!!

Answer 10

Good question and I pray I never have to answer that one but I know plenty that do. Some of the test were wrong and other test were right but the child was very loved any way.