WATCH: The New Naked Gun Trailer Drops With the PERFECT O.J. Simpson Joke
Flashback: Here's Nancy Pelosi Singing a (D)ifferent Tune on China, Trade Deficits, and...
‘Hmmm’: Adam Kinzinger Suspicious There Are No Tariffs on Russia
What a Peach! Watch Unhinged Leftist Crow About 'No FEMA' for Tornado-Impacted Red...
Tim Walz's Magical Media Tour Continues! He Tells MSNBC Voters Regret Electing Trump...
Not Even CLOSE, Bud! The Hill Wants Us to Believe the Pendulum Is...
Only 19% of Baltimore Kids Are Proficient in Math, So the District Spends...
Jamie Raskin Calls Fed. Employees Patriots, Claims They Pass Up MANY Rich Jobs...
U.S. Bans Romantic Relationships Between Gov Workers and Chinese Citizens, Eric Swalwell H...
EPIC Post from GenZ'r Explaining Why He's NOT Worried About His 401K DECIMATES...
Now That the Border Is Secure It's Safe for Dems to Go (Tom...
NBC News Scrapes the Bottom of the Barrel to Get a Nurse's Opinion...
CNN's Abby Phillip Gets Fact Checked to Her Face!
HORSES**T! Stephanie Ruhle Tries Lecturing MAGA About What THEY Voted for but Dean...
Chuck Schumer Triggered By Elon Musk's Spot-On 1-Word Post About Dems Suing to...

Patricia Heaton shocked that NYT publishes positive op-ed on kids with Down syndrome

Noted atheist Richard Dawkins recently responded to a hypothetical question about being pregnant with a baby with Down syndrome by telling a woman to “abort it and try again,” arguing that it would be “immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.”

Advertisement

A few days later, Dawkins walked back his comments a bit, apologizing for “impugning the morality of the approximately ten percent of women who deliberately choose NOT to abort a Down’s fetus.”

Dawkins’ comments were at the center of a New York Times op-ed published Thursday, entitled “The Truth About Down Syndrome.” Shockingly, the op-ed, authored by Jamie Edgin, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, and Fabian Fernandez, a research associate at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was sympathetic to families with children with Down syndrome. Edgin and Fernandez write:

…Mr. Dawkins suggested that his view was rooted in the moral principle of reducing overall suffering whenever possible — in this case, that of individuals born with Down syndrome and their families.

But Mr. Dawkins’s argument is flawed. Not because his moral reasoning is wrong, necessarily (that is a question for another day), but because his understanding of the facts is mistaken. Recent research indicates that individuals with Down syndrome can experience more happiness and potential for success than Mr. Dawkins seems to appreciate.


In 2010, researchers reported that parents of preschoolers with Down syndrome experienced lower levels of stress than parents of preschoolers with autism. In 2007, researchers found that the divorce rate in families with a child with Down syndrome was lower on average than that in families with a child with other congenital abnormalities and in those with a nondisabled child.
In another study, 88 percent of siblings reported feeling that they themselves were better people for having a younger sibling with Down syndrome; and of 284 respondents to a survey of those with Down syndrome over the age of 12, 99 percent stated they were personally happy with their own lives.

Advertisement

While Heaton was disheartened to read some of the comments left in response to the op-ed, her followers were happy to read a rejoinder to Dawkins.


https://twitter.com/Fleming3C/status/505468450819809280
https://twitter.com/BlueIslandGrl69/status/505469529733226496
https://twitter.com/awfultruth37/status/505459735488126976

Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Twitchy Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement