Do you think it’s morally wrong to abort a child with a disability?

Question

First off, I am not saying that people who have done this are wrong, I am just curious on what others think. I had an experience where my AFP levels were high, which points to the baby possibly having spina bifida (The spine didn’t fuse properly and as a result the baby is born with holes in his spine and/or back.) and doctors suggested I have an amnio. I refused to get an amnio and instead opted for an in-depth ultrasound. The ultrasound reveled that the baby was formed properly and looked normal. Because I had early bleeding and the ultrasound came back normal, the doctors said I really didn’t need the amnio and most likely the baby was fine. My question is, is it morally wrong to terminate a pregnancy just because there is a chance (be it 20% or a 90% chance) that the baby might not be “normal”? When I was going through my experience, I had to think long and hard and even though I have always dreamt of having a perfect little baby, I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least give him a chance at life. I didn’t do the amnio because there was a chance (even though it was small) of losing the baby after the amnio. On the other hand, what chance at life would he have if he was disabled? I am so torn and am just curious what people’s opinions are. I ended up giving birth @ 23 weeks and the baby did not survive. I have been racking my brain, trying to make sense of what happened (It was a PPROM) and at times I think that maybe my baby was going to be disabled and God was sparing me the heartache. Everything happens for a reason, right? But then I think, I wouldn’t care either way, he was my baby and I would have loved hi either way. Has anyone experience this before or been in a similar situation? And even if you haven’t, how do you feel about women aborting their baby because they were told the baby would be disabled or mentally ill?

FOr those who are curious, I am most def. going for a second child. ALthough my baby was born @ 23 weeks, he was completely formed and had no visable signs of a disability, of course if he would have survived passed the 10 hrs he was with me, it was very likely he would have had a number of issues.

The reason I asked this wuestion is becuase people keep telling me, I guess to make me feel better about losing my baby, that he would have probably had a disablity and that GOD was sparing me. I HATE when people tell me this because I don't think that just becuase he MIGHT have had a disability doesn't make it hurt any less, he was still MY child.

Answer 1

It's not for me to say if this is wrong or not because I cannot judge anyone, only God can. That being said I do think if you decide to get an abortion because you want to spare that child the hard life he or she has to face with being in and out of the hospital and teasing from other children, then no I wouldn't say it was wrong. If you are doing it because you don't want to be bothered with a disabled child, then yes.

Answer 2

I think it depends on the certainty of the problem, and its extent. If the diagnosis of the problem is certain, and if it's a problem that the child won't survive anyway if they're carried full term, or will be a vegetable their entire lives, from day one, then I think it makes sense to end the pregnancy. I can't imagine the trauma to the mother of carrying a child she knew would die within hours of being born.

This is a vastly different situation from aborting a child because there's a chance it won't be "perfect." First of all, no human is perfect. Second, if you speak with parents of special needs children, they will tell that although it's very difficult, they've also found a lot of love and value in the experience, and don't regret their decision.

I am so sorry for the loss of your baby. Sometimes there's no reason things happen the way they do. Not everything has to make sense. And I don't believe God was sparing you the heartache. Your heart is clearly aching now, and God has other ways of comforting us. I am certain God is there with you now, holding you as you would hold your child.

Answer 3

I guess it depends on a lot of things. I think it's wise for people to know about their family history to see what the possibilities are about having a child with developmental disabilities/birth defects/menatl retardation/phyical disabilities and then making a decision as to whether or not they want to have kids based on that information. As a mother of an Autistic child (I had no knowledge of anything) I can certainly understand why a parent would opt for abortion. Having a child who is not going to develop normally is an extremely difficult situation. Not only for the child, but it will also effect the family in ways others can never imagine. Also, the laws and insurance policies are not going to be there for you. You are always going to have to fight to get services for your child. However, even if I knew my child was going to be autistic, I probably wouldn't have aborted. From what I hear, spina bofidia is extremely horrible and the child doesn't really live that long. Everything does happen for a reason and my child being born autistic has really changed my life. Although she is extremely high functioning and has recently been rediagnosed with Asberger's it hasn't been an easy process for the both of us. I think it all comes down to personal choice. There are no guarantees in this life...especially when it comes to having a baby. Even if you have a healthy child there also is no proof that that will always be the case. Life is a crap shoot. Once again it's all about you and what you think you can handle. Put morality aside. Morality is not going to help you take care of your child. Morality is not going to insure your child services. Morality is not going to help you pay expenses out of pocket because the insurance companies will tell you that a service all the doctors tell you is needed is "not medically necessary." Yeah...that'll be a term you'll hear a lot.

Answer 4

I think it is morally wrong to abort a child with a disability.
There are a lot of people in this world that has made a difference in our world, even if they have a disability.
Having a disability doesn't mean that that person is useless.
They are just born special.
I think it's just plain wrong for people to abort babies just because they have a disability.
Even if they are, they can live life, breathe air.
I have never experienced anything like this, but I can tell you this, just aborting a baby is wrong.
And if the parents actually thought of having the baby, and they want a normal baby, they can just cry me a river, because so what if their child is going to be disabled?
Everyone deserves a chance in life, and it wasn't the baby's fault that it's going to be disabled.

Hope I didn't sound to mean, but I get really uptight when it comes to aborting babies.

Answer 5

Took at a description of the Partial Birth Abortion and tell me what political party hates children. Imagine sucking the brains out of a LIVING child! EDIT: If you AREN'T a Democrat then you don't have any reason for asking such an ignorant and loaded question!

Answer 6

firstly, atheist here, so i won't bring up god. my good friend is 6 months preg with a boy (her first baby) who has a 25% chance of having cystic fibrosis. she knows that if diagnosed, the lifespan of her son will be around 30 yrs old. she is still going to just hope for the best and see how things work out. personally, if it was my baby, i would do the same thing. however, if there was a zero % chance of survival, i would most likely abort. morally, it is right and wrong. right to spare the child pain of a short and painful life, wrong because abortion is not a natural way for a life to end. so it's really up to the parent to make that decision. unlike religion, i don't see life as black or white. i believe there are grey areas that need to be assessed for each person's unique situation, and for me to judge what a person chooses to do with their free will would be wrong. i am not morally superior, i can only account for my own choices in life.
btw, i am sorry to hear about your baby. it is heartbreaking to hear, and i wish you the best for your next pregnancy.

Answer 7

My honest opinion is that God did know, and he did what was right. I'm sure it was heartbreaking for you and difficult, but God creates life and God terminates life. So I think you did the right thing.

I also refused an amnio because I just didn't want to take the chance, and I didn't want to know. Of course life would be harder with a disabled child, but you would have loved him/her just the same. Also, I think that every person has a purpose in their life, whether it be big or small... so again, I support your decision to let things in God's hands. I think its wonderful that you'll try again, and I wish the best for you.

Answer 8

I dont have a definitive answer to this question. Its one that i don think you can answer until you have yourself been in that situation. However to all the people saying 'what about adoption', you need to think realistically here. Majority of children with disabilities never get a chance at a permanent home. There are a few angels out there that adopt special needs children, but they are few and far between. the sad truth is that a child with difficulties that is placed up for adoption will spend their life shifted from group home to group home.
So like i said, i dont think anyone can pass judgement or offer advice unless they had been in this situation of carrying a disabled child.

Answer 9

Yes, I do think it's wrong (but I don't want to judge most people; it makes me sad, not angry to think of their decision.)

Is their life worth less than anyone else's?

Everything does happen for a reason; God trusted this child to you. I grew up with two friends who have Spina Bifida. Those girls went to college and even got married.

I have other friends who have been told that their children had Downs Syndrome, which is relatively common and often aborted these days. ALL of them feel blessed and lucky that they had a such a sweet soul come to live with them.

Answer 10

Well, that really depends on the level of disability. Asperger's syndrome or something mild is tolerable. However, I could not let it on my conscious to bring a child into the world who was not going to enjoy life, simply because they would not be able to. If the genetics disallowed a fairly normal, fairly happy life, wouldn't it be amoral to bring it into the world?

I am not a religious man, but both my wife and I feel the same. It would be utterly cruel to bring a child into the world who was going to be doing nothing more than being a vegetable, or who was so horribly deformed that they could never be normal (or close to it.) My wife watches these shows on TV (Discovery, Health, etc) with these children that have a hard time just breathing, cannot think, etc, and I just wonder if it would be humane to euthanise them...