New York Times on Campaign to Raise Awarenes of Down Syndrome

See the video here. I am proud to support this campaign. The authors of the book Gifts are urging American Express cardholders to vote for Awareness Can Build a Family to receive a $5 million grant That is the theme of our campaign and here's the way it is described to American Express:

Awareness Can Build a Family

Yearly, thousands of women are tested to determine if the child they carry has Down syndrome. A positive answer often portrays a bleak future in which their child will impose terrible burdens and dreams die.
Many medical professionals have scant knowledge of Down syndrome and are unable to comfort or educate. Their messages tag people with Down syndrome as having no value, implying there is no place for them in our world. The tragic result: an astonishing 90% of pregnancies involving diagnosis of Down syndrome are terminated.

In fact, there is much to celebrate. Children with Down syndrome excel in school, participating in sports and graduating. As adults they live independent, rewarding lives. Ask a parent, you will hear of joy, fulfillment.
Our Members Project, "Awareness Can Build a Family," would use public service television, ads, booklets and more to tell that people with Down syndrome are more like all of us than not and are of priceless value.
If you agree with all of that, please vote as soon as possible, the first round closes July 15, 2007!
This campaign would also help to place this life-affirming book into the hands of every Obstetrician in the nation. Copies of the book were passed out at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynocologists Convention recently.

I dream of putting together an information packet, complete with the book Gifts, and a DVD of the movie Mr Blue Sky to be given, free of charge to all parents who are expecting a child with Down syndrome. If this happens, the abortion rate for these beautiful children will drop precipitously, from the horrifying rate it is now 93%. Only 7% of these beautiful children live to enrich our world. How impoverished this world is without them!

There's more you can do:
You may have already seen the petition for the re-introduction of the Kennedy-Brownback bill to require that obstetricians whose patients are expecting a child with Down Syndrome give them up-to-date, accurate information, and put them in touch with parents like myself, who are raising children with Down syndrome. You can read more about it here, it was written by Noelle, the blogging mom of Jaden's Journal and the Video Blog for Expectant Parent's Rights.