“I am a man with Down syndrome and my life is worth living.” These are the words that Frank Stephens, a Quincy Jones Advocate at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation, spoke as he delivered compelling testimony on Capitol Hill last week. The members of the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education Committee on Appropriations intently listened as Stephens expressed his concern that “Sadly, across the world, a notion is being sold that maybe we don’t need research concerning Down syndrome. Some people say prenatal screens will identify Down syndrome in the womb, and those pregnancies will just be terminated.”
Stephens is right, genetic screening around the world has been responsible for a major increase in terminated pregnancies when the fetus is diagnosed with Down syndrome.