The Scare Of Downs Syndrome

I am constantly hearing testimonies of older mothers who have been told, after having ultrasound, that their baby has Downs Syndrome or other abnormalities. They are then pressured to abort the baby. Even when the couple refuses to abort, it puts a cloud over the pregnancy. Many times, the baby is born absolutely healthy, with no defects. All the worry and heartache has been for nothing. God's grace and sufficiency is promised to us when we face a problem, not ahead of time. If a baby was born with defects, God's grace comes at that moment. A mother does not need the anguish of months of worrying.

And what about the hundreds of babies that are aborted because the parents have followed the advice of the medical profession? Many of these babies are healthy, normal babies. I trust that the following testimonies will be an encouragement to other couples to trust God, who is the One who creates the baby in the secret of the womb, rather than committing abortion, which will leave the mother with guilt for the rest of her life.

WE CAN'T PLAY GOD!

It was April 1996 and I was in my fourth month of pregnancy. I was anticipating spring with the warmer weather and all the fun I would have with my other six children. I had routine tests and screenings with my last two pregnancies, probably due to the fact that I am in my thirties and that is what the medical profession likes to do. They start looking for possible problems.

I received a phone call from my doctor saying, "You are having a Downs Syndrome baby." I went into shock. Weak and trembling, I fell helplessly sobbing into my loving husband's arms. My doctor told me to come to the clinic the next day to talk about it. I felt shaky as my doctor sat down next to me with his big important book of facts. He told me that according to the numbers on my screening that it was very likely my baby would have Downs Syndrome which is caused by an extra chromosome on the 21st set; or he or she would be a trisome 18 which is even more severe, with heart defects and retardation. If this was the case, the baby would only live one or two days. He recommended an amniocentesis test and if the baby were trisome 18 he would be willing to perform an abortion. If the baby was trisome 21, he recommended that I have the baby - if I wanted to. I

I refused the amniocentesis. My precious unborn child would not have his home invaded by a needle and perhaps cause me to miscarry. I told my doctor that no matter what, I would not abort. I wanted my baby.

I did consent to have a level 2 ultra sound. I had until 19 weeks pregnant to get the ultra sound. As the technician looked at my baby growing inside me, she showed us each part and said our baby looked perfect. However, she could not rule out Downs Syndrome. Now it was a 50/50 percent chance of Downs.

I came to terms with the thought that there may be problems with my baby and I tried to relax and leave it up to God. On October 1996, I gave birth to a 9 lbs 5 oz. baby boy! He was born healthy, chubby and beautiful. He is working at crawling and is into everything. He loves his siblings, pets, music and books. He tries to eat the books! He repeats sounds and when he teethes on my hand and I say, "Ouch" he hugs me. I praise the Lord for this magnificent gift. He is the joy of our family.

I shudder to think of the consequences if I had made a bad decision, based on fear and false findings of a man-made medical test. I had a great nephew with heart defects and Downs Syndrome. We lost him at two years old, but in his two short years he won hearts and changed the lives of his family.

We make a huge mistake by playing God in deciding which babies should be allowed to be born. If I am blessed with another pregnancy, I think I will skip the silly tests and trust the One who weaves the baby together in secret in my womb.

LOUISE DONCASTER
Elk River, Minnesota, USA

Bob and Louise have six children, Clover, Chance, Timothy, Nicole, Danielle  and Dylan.