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My mother phoned my at 10.15 on Sunday morning to ask if I'd seen the paper. So yes, they published it together with a letter from a mother of a child with Down's Syndrome. Pete -----Original Message----- From: The Disability-Research Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of A Velarde Sent: 18 July 2007 14:09 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Termination of foetuses with impairments Very nicely put. Best, Andy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Peter Denton" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 1:43 PM Subject: Re: Termination of foetuses with impairments It may not be very scientific in its basis, but I've just zapped the e-mail below to the editor of the Observer: === begin quoted === I have just read the above article and am grateful that you have brought the issue to people's attention for further debate. I have to hold may hands up (all one and a half of them) and say that I am an interested party here - I am a disabled person, having been born with a genetically transmitted impairment. Being a disabled person is at the heart of my personal identity. It may surprise people to learn that I see it as an almost entirely positive thing. As a child I was restricted - there were things I wanted to do that I physically could not do and I experienced discrimination and a fair few unpleasant comments. Find me a child who hasn't been restricted in one way or an other and who hasn't had unpleasant things said to them or about them! I had academic institutions who refused to offer me places because they weren't prepared to make what would now be known as a 'reasonable adjustment' to their course so that it could meet my access needs. I also had medical professionals recommending treatment that wasn't necessary but seemed like the best course of action at the time. I'm not bitter about these (even though I still have the scars from the medical treatment) - they're part of what has made me who I am now and I like being that person. Having said all of this, I'll be reaching the heady age of 40 next year and I have lived a generally happy and fulfilled life so far. I have met a lot of other disabled people over this time, with a broad range of impairments - just about every one of us who was born with an impairment is happy to be alive and many still have very strong and loving relationships with their parents. I can remember having a conversation with my mother, some years ago, asking her what she felt when I was born as an 'abnormal' child. She said that the initial reaction of "Why did this happen to me?" soon changed to "This happens to people, why should we think we're so special that it can't happen to us?" I'm sure there was still uncertainty and worry but all I felt as a child was love, care and a real encouragement to do the same things as my (non disabled) friends. Ok there were some things I couldn't do and some things that I needed adapted equipment to do but I was supported and encouraged just to get on with life. I am grateful that I wasn't 'wrapped up in cotton wool' even though that might have been the tempting thing for a parent to do to their precious disabled child. The point I'm trying to make is this: I'm lucky that I had great support as a disabled child. I'm sure my parents and my brother made changes to their lives, to cope with having a disabled person in the family but I'm sure that these changes were not all negative. I'm sure that their attitudes towards other people and their emotional wellbeing are far better for having to face these fundamental human issues and find ways of dealing with them. I know I'm not alone as a disabled person with these feelings. I can think of two prominent people in the disability world who have genetically transmitted impairments and have chosen to have children knowing full well that their children may have the same impairments. In both cases they have said that they'll be very happy if their child can enjoy the quality of life that they themselves have enjoyed as disabled people. I am reminded of an Italian disability campaigner, Giampierro Griffo, who once said to me "Birds fly, fishes swim, cats walk on dry land: each is different yet each is normal." It is normal to have impairments - people have been born with them for thousands of years. It is the way that we accept disabled people in society that make the human species the wonderful thing that it is. It is working together to meet the challenges of disability that makes us stronger as a society. You might guess that overall, I am somewhat uneasy with technology that (if it had been in place 40 years ago) could have led to my abortion rather than my birth. I am not against the right of a pregnant woman to choose whether to have an abortion, particularly if that choice is made on the grounds of her own health and wellbeing. What I will say, though, is please think carefully when you're in a challenging situation like giving birth to a potentially disabled child. When the child is born, you probably won't react the way you expected you would. My advice to any pregnant woman would be don't be pressured (by your partner, doctors or your peers) into having a test unless you feel sure that having a disabled child would seriously damage your health. You can live without material possessions, you can change your expectations and still live a fulfilled life but you can't replace the love of a child (and disabled children can love just as much as non-disabled children) and learning to live with disability can be very rewarding for everyone involved. If in doubt, get a second opinion - not from your doctor but from disabled adults with the same medical condition and from the parents of disabled people with the same medical condition. Only they can give you any idea of what the future might be like. This issue isn't going to go away and there are some very difficult decisions for some people to make. All I'm saying is please get as much evidence as you can, in the time available, before you make a decision and don't trust just one set of experts - listen to the doctors but try to listen to people with first hand experience of your situation too. Pete Denton Huddersfield -----Original Message----- From: The Disability-Research Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Liz Crow Sent: 17 July 2007 14:32 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Termination of foetuses with impairments There's an article in this week's Observer 'The parents with the hardest choice of all' about opting for termination to avoid 'the risk of having a disabled child'. It's filled with assumptions and judgements about the value and quality of our lives. I wondered whether there was anyone who'd be able to write to the letters page - or even submit a full article - rebutting it? I'm too ill to do this at the moment, but it's such a major article, it really needs disabled people's protest to be heard. The article is at: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,2126656,00.html ________________End of message______________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about the list administratione should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page. ________________End of message______________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about the list administratione should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page. ________________End of message______________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about the list administratione should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page. ________________End of message______________________ This Disability-Research Discussion list is managed by the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of Leeds (www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies). Enquiries about the list administratione should be sent to [log in to unmask] Archives and tools are located at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page.