Sarah Palin's choice

It's not about the baby. It's about the Lies & Hypocrisy!


By Rahul K. Parikh, M.D.
Sep. 05, 2008 First, a little political mischief. Since being chosen as John's McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin has caused a hurricane in the media and blogosphere, where one rumor has it that her 4-month old son, Trig, born with Down syndrome, isn't hers, but belongs to her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol. The theory goes that Palin covered up her daughter's pregnancy for political reasons.

Yes, it's hard to believe (I surely don't). But at age 44, Gov. Palin would certainly be the right person to fly cover for her daughter..........................

Rumormongers could latch onto the fact that teens from the ages of 15 to 19 have given birth to Down syndrome babies at a higher rate than mothers in their early 20s. But it is not a substantial rate. No, what troubles me about Palin's fifth pregnancy is that she was given a choice whether to have Trig, a choice that, as a staunchly pro-life politician, she would deny other women.

Gov. Palin apparently took a special blood test to detect that she was carrying a baby with Down syndrome. When he was born, she released a statement: "Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives."
By knowingly giving birth to a Down syndrome child, Palin represents a minority of women. A 2002 study found that about 90 percent of pregnancies in the United States where the fetus was diagnosed with Down syndrome were terminated.

We could ask, given that Palin had no doubts about seeing her pregnancy through, why she bothered to take a genetic test. Why not, as you might expect a woman in her position and with her outspoken beliefs to do, decline any testing or counseling? Of course, it seems very reasonable to want to know about the health of your baby and to have time to prepare (emotionally and otherwise) for a baby that may have a genetic disorder. But that doesn't negate the fact that by having a blood test, Palin was given a choice about what to do.

Palin was given a choice whether to have that child, something, if she had her way as a lawmaker, she wouldn't give others. According to legal experts, should Roe v. Wade be overturned, some states could outlaw abortion for Down syndrome or other birth defects, and women wouldn't have Palin's choice.

So while I respect Palin's decision to raise Trig, that's all the respect she will get from me. I don't see eye-to-eye with her on anything else: energy, guns, sex education and of course a woman's right to choose. Her supporters say that Trig signals that she practices what she preaches. But her to decision to have him is also a sign of her hypocrisy.

Full article at: http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/09/05/sarah_palin_down_syndrome/print.html