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I don't want to bring a child into the world to suffer, and not lead a happy productive life. It's far more than accepting the child. It's accepting the fact that if you love your children you would do what is best for them, even if it means preventing their suffering.

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I see your point and I really 50/50 on this but I wanted the opinions of others. I think its different when comparing family to like friends or other people.Just because your family might accept you doesn't mean other people will. One thong about families are that they aren't judgmental about you where as other people might be/are.

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Somewhere weakness is our strength,
And i'll die searching for it,

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With downs syndrome they have a real quality of life. They can have friends, jobs, and pretty well understand the world around them. They can go to a normal school, although they do have special classes. In an essense they are nothing but a large child that never grows up, no matter how severe their particual case is.

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Some people with Down's are like this, yes. Some will spend their lives in a wheelchair almost unable to communicate with others, unable to ever be alone and will die in their 30s.

As for CP, the symptoms are more diverse than Down's. It can range from having pretty much a normal life to something like the above.

In terms of disability Down's is far more affecting than CP. No one with Down's can ever really hold a job on their own or live on their own. The same can't be said for people with CP.

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Massive, epic adventure, multi-coloured, multi-layered.
Sort of two/three dimensional Wizard of Oz for the future.

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Some people with Down's are like this, yes. Some will spend their lives in a wheelchair almost unable to communicate with others, unable to ever be alone and will die in their 30s.

As for CP, the symptoms are more diverse than Down's. It can range from having pretty much a normal life to something like the above.

In terms of disability Down's is far more affecting than CP. No one with Down's can ever really hold a job on their own or live on their own. The same can't be said for people with CP.

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If a person with downs is in a wheel chair, chances are they have some other issues and not just downs itself.  Downs by itself is exactly as I described it.  

As I said CP does have a variety of severities and symptoms and none of them an I willing to handle, because you have no idea how bad they are going to be, and I am looking at the childs quality of life.  I couldn't live with myself knowing that I brought a CP child into the world.

You have obviously not been around many downs people.  Most downs people can and do hold jobs.  The majority that do not have jobs, don't have one, because their care givers choose not to let them have one.  They have a better chance at a good quality of life than a person with CP.  I will never have a child that has CP.  The risks out weight the benefits.  There is too high of a chance that the child will have a severe case, and no quality of life.  I have seen too many CP people in the hospitals on a regular basis.  Even those with just mild cases are in and out of hospitals.  

Atleast with downs you know what to expect, and you can expect them to have a decent quality of life.  They can hold a job and live normally with assistance.  With CP there is no way of knowing exactly what you are going to get.

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"Put on your big girl panties, and get over it"

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Quote: from The Samsoniteman at 10:08 pm on Oct. 26, 2008

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 Some people with Down's are like this, yes. Some will spend their lives in a wheelchair almost unable to communicate with others, unable to ever be alone and will die in their 30s.  

 As for CP, the symptoms are more diverse than Down's. It can range from having pretty much a normal life to something like the above.  

 In terms of disability Down's is far more affecting than CP. No one with Down's can ever really hold a job on their own or live on their own. The same can't be said for people with CP.

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If a person with downs is in a wheel chair, chances are they have some other issues and not just downs itself. Downs by itself is exactly as I described it.

As I said CP does have a variety of severities and symptoms and none of them an I willing to handle, because you have no idea how bad they are going to be, and I am looking at the childs quality of life. I couldn't live with myself knowing that I brought a CP child into the world.  

You have obviously not been around many downs people. Most downs people can and do hold jobs. The majority that do not have jobs, don't have one, because their care givers choose not to let them have one. They have a better chance at a good quality of life than a person with CP. I will never have a child that has CP. The risks out weight the benefits. There is too high of a chance that the child will have a severe case, and no quality of life. I have seen too many CP people in the hospitals on a regular basis. Even those with just mild cases are in and out of hospitals.

I hear they are working on a cure for CP and other congenital birth effects. Too bad that cure is not for my generation. On the other side I was so happy because they say CP and DS are getting more and more common in babies being born today. Hopefully with a cure the can decrease the chances of it occuring at least. I wish more people knew and fought for CP the way the do for autism. Autism awareness has grown so much that it has changed the way people think of autistic people. It also has generated more interest in research  in finding the true cause of autism. Hopefully CP will become more known and aware to other people. Awareness to me is the biggest think because it helps against judgment and ignorance.  

Atleast with downs you know what to expect, and you can expect them to have a decent quality of life. They can hold a job and live normally with assistance. With CP there is no way of knowing exactly what you are going to get.

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Just because I would not subject my child to a poor quality of life does not mean that I am being judgmental or ignorant. I know the facts about most of the birth defects, and I wouldn't have come to a decision like this without knowing the facts.

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Thats great that you do but how would you know whats gonna happen to your kid in life if you don't take risk? You'll just end up never knowing. I'm 50/50 on my mom having me but still this did wander through my mind.

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Somewhere weakness is our strength,
And i'll die searching for it,

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It's not a risk I am willing to take. There is a slim chance that they will be functioning, but the risk of them having no quality of life is too high for me to even consider having them. I would rather not know, and live knowing that I killed one of my own children, than bring a child into the world that wouldn't have a good quality of life.

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Thanks for sharing your opinion I really appreciate how thoughtful your post were.

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Somewhere weakness is our strength,
And i'll die searching for it,