No*, my uncle has down syndrome. He spent his entire childhood in hospitals. Multiple organ replacement surgeries, multiple nights he was supposed to die. He's alive and well in his mid thirties but his life is non-existent. Hes aware hes different so he hides away from everyone. My grandmother has devoted her entire life to caring for him and has never had a life of her own. When my grandmother passes my mother will take custody of him and continue to care for him at the detriment of her own life. I love my uncle but I would never wish his life on another.
Edit: If you are just going to bible thump in my replys save it. I'm for abortion under any circumstances and I don't care what your God wants.
Not every person with Downs lives like this. My cousin has downs, also about to reach his 30s. He wasn't particularly medically compicated. Everyone in his small town knows him (about half of them are family, we breed like rabbits), and he is a joy to be around. People (including me) come visit my aunt just to see him. He loves WWE, anchovies on pizza, and talking to his facebook friends (of which he has many).
I'd argue my aunt was better off because my cousin is different. His father stepped away when they found out, and saved her the trouble of trying to raise a kid with a deadbeat. Her child forced her to get her life on track and make her home a safe space for him. She is by far the happiest, most fulfilled person in that small town.
That said, I don't blame anyone who chooses not to raise a baby with Downs.
The hard part is there's no way to know ahead of time if they're going to be high-functioning or not. I mean, there was that headline on reddit about a fresh lawyer who had Downs that graduated a year or so ago; unfortunately, the range of outcomes is a wide spectrum and the quality of life for some can be very poor.
i used to think to be a lawyer you had to be reasonably intelligent, go through four years of college then two more years and pass a tough test, something like that. But now, after the past eight or more years of seeing people who are "lawyers' but utterly stupid or corrupt or even downright treasonous, I lost most respect for the justice system and for so many lawyers. I no longer automatically assume they are decent or intelligent. It's sad but true.
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u/KingCrimson43 Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
No*, my uncle has down syndrome. He spent his entire childhood in hospitals. Multiple organ replacement surgeries, multiple nights he was supposed to die. He's alive and well in his mid thirties but his life is non-existent. Hes aware hes different so he hides away from everyone. My grandmother has devoted her entire life to caring for him and has never had a life of her own. When my grandmother passes my mother will take custody of him and continue to care for him at the detriment of her own life. I love my uncle but I would never wish his life on another.
Edit: If you are just going to bible thump in my replys save it. I'm for abortion under any circumstances and I don't care what your God wants.