31 for 21 Day 4

Why are you such a big proponent of Down Syndrome adoption?

I do *heart* Reece's Rainbow.
To see it from it's inception to where it is now,
is simply AMAZING.
Andrea and the people who work with her are awesome.

Did you know that in many Eastern European countries,
children are placed in orphanages at birth
if they are born with a disability?
(Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy,Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, etc)

Many are loved and many more are not.
Many (Most) will be transferred to
mental institutions around the age of 4 or 5.
Many (Most) do not make it in these institutions more than 1 year.
They die.

Did you know that in many other countries
children born with disabilities (including DS)
are feared as being possessed by the devil?
Families who decide to keep their children are at risk of being ostracized.
(or worse)

Before you get all uppity about this,
remember that in the US prior to 1950ish
we practiced similar behaviors.
So that is why I support adoption, especially adoption
of children with disabilities.

Let me be clear....
First and foremost,
I think that families should be empowered to keep their children
as opposed to being
'forced' to give them up
making them social orphans.

When this fails,
I totally support adoption.

Ultimately, I think it is our responsibility to take care of the 'least of these'.

And now for a trip down memory lane: