Discrimination is a popular and useful word when it works for you instead of against you. In today’s culture there are many people who are quick to cry “That’s Discrimination!” when their particular viewpoint is not embraced or celebrated. When we turn the discrimination coin over, we find the same minted words “That’s Discrimination!” So, what am I saying?
For many cultural progressives it is popular to use the word discrimination when in comes to issues which they are advocates. For example many cultural progressives are for a homosexual’s right to same-sex marriage, a women’s right to abortion, and a man’s right as it pertains to pornography, but anyone who supports restrictions or suggests new, additional, or more robust restrictions is immediately given the “red (discrimination) card” (A soccer term for those who are unfamiliar).
But as mentioned previously the other side of the coin is discrimination also. Think for a moment about a progressive couple who embraces much of the above mentioned issues and then find out they are expecting a child. This news of a new little baby thrills them. They make announcements, plans, and preparations. During the second prenatal doctor visit, they learn their little baby is diagnosed with down syndrome. It is at this point we will learn if this couple really holds to their cherished value of discrimination. Will they abort (murder) or not? If they abort is this not one of the worst kinds of discrimination? I believe it is.
The sad reality is that this vile discrimination is taking place every day. In China it is more advantageous to have a boy than a girl. Due to the government’s one child policy, baby girls are aborted. “That’s Discrimination!” In India the birth of a girl means a greater financial burden to the family; again baby girls are aborted. “That’s Discrimination!” According to a Boston Children’s Hospital report “92 percent of women who received a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome choose to terminate their pregnancies”¹ “That’s Discrimination!” Unfortunately, the political, media, and cultural progressives who shout “That’s Discrimination!” for a host of other issues are amazingly silent when the coin toss doesn’t go their way.
Thankfully, the world is a brighter place because some people do not discriminate against Down syndrome. See and read the following story about Tim Harris and the next time you find yourself in Albuquerque, NM stop for some Comfort, Food, and Hugs at Tim’s Place Restaurant.
¹ Susan Donaldson James, “Down Syndrome Births Are Down in U.S.,” ABC News, November 2, 2009