Abortion of babies with Down syndrome is chromosomal racism

I am humbled to see that I did not invent the notion of genetic diversity, I borrowed it unwittingly from my greatest hero; Dr Jerome Lejeune. See his quote below. I must have read it and internalized the message. That is a good thing; internalizing the ethos of future saints (see the excellent article about the process of his canonization here) however I must be sure to give the Good Doctor credit.

“Chromosomal racism is brandished like a flag of freedom. … That this negation of medicine, of all the biological brotherhood that links mankind, is the sole practical application of the knowledge of Trisomy 21 more than breaks my heart … Protecting the abandoned-what a reactionary, retrograde, fundamentalist, inhuman idea!” 

Dr Jerome Lejeune

These words were entered into his private diary when he realized how his seminal discovery of Trisomy 21, the cause of Down syndrome, was co-opted by the March of Dimes to conduct the search-and-destroy missions of amnio centesis. He devoted the rest of his life to researching a cure for the disorder so that the horrific 92% rate of abortion would be eliminated. . I consider it an honor to continue his quest to eliminate abortion of  those with Down syndrome in my blogs, in KIDS and with my book "A Special Mother is Born". 

Today on retreat at St Edmund's in Mystic, CT, I offered up my apostolate to Dr Lejeune and prayed for his intercession. 

I'll be Relevant on my birthday!

I just got an email from The Drew Mariani Show's scheduler and I'll be on his radio show at 3:30 EST to discuss my work with Keep Infants with Down Syndrome.

 Tune in if you get the chance.

My debut on "Faith and Culture" is coming on June 5 and 9

Eileen Haupt the co-founder of KIDS (Keeping Infants with Down Syndrome) and I taped an episode of one of Colleen Carroll Campbell's show "Faith and Culture" which will be aired on Sunday June 5 at 10:30 AM and on Wednesday June 8  at 11:00 PM on EWTN.
 If you don't get EWTN you can live stream it on the internet at those times or watch archived shows by going to EWTN or Colleen Carroll Campbell's website.
Hope you can tune in. Leave a comment and tell us how we did!

Leticia's KIDS interview on EWTN to be aired tomorrow

Leticia was interviewed with KIDS member Dr Judith Mascolo by Teresa Tomeo as part of the live EWTN coverage of the March for Life on Saturday, January 29 at 2PM.


Our interview, which was very brief, was done immediately after the Verizon Center Mass. I estimate that it will be aired between 4:30 and 5PM EST tomorrow, Saturday Jan 29.

Go here to watch EWTN on your computer if you do not have the channel on TV.

KIDS to meet Congresswoman McMorris Rogers and Jerome Lejeune Foundation at National Right to Life Headquarters

Agenda for National Right to Life Committee Headquarters at 512 10th Street, Washington DC

• 10:45 - Melissa and Neil Sloan will be at NRLC by 10:45 to greet KIDS families.
• 11:00  KIDS families may start arriving. at 512 10th St, NW Washington, DC
• 11:00-11:30 - Leticia is meeting EWTN for an interview behind the stage of the March for Life at the Mall and 4th Street. 
• ALL KIDS members are welcome to join us and hold signs for the interview. 
•  Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers will arrive at 12:15  for a brief update on her work on behalf of our children
• Madame Valerie Guilloux of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation will address the group and present Congresswoman McMorris Rogers with a copy of "Life is a Blessing".
• After a brief brunch, KIDS families will march!

We're getting ready for the March for Life; are you?

Attention Christina Velasquez fans; she is about to make her debut on EWTN this Monday January 24 between 11 and 11:30 EST. We will be representing KIDS Keep Infants with Down Syndrome. a group Eileen Haupt and I began three years ago to call attention to the fact that babies with Down syndrome are targeted by what future saint, and the Father of Modern Genetics, 

 Dr Jerome Lejeune called "chromosomal racism". They are aborted at a rate of 90% when they are discovered by pre-natal diagnosis.
Until now this has been done largely by amnio, however, a new blood test threatens to dramatically increase the number of our lovely and special children aborted. This non-invasive blood test is being touted in the media as a life-saver, yet whose lives are worth saving and whose are not?

We at KIDS say ALL life is precious! 

Come join us for our EWTN interview behind the speakers platform at the March for Life, hold up a sign to say that you are for ALL KIDS. 

God made them as they are and finds them precious in His sight. 

Eliminating the word 'retarded' is not enough

The battle against using the so-called "R-word" has occupied my friends. in the Down syndrome advocacy community. I could never get fully engaged, because of the elephant in the room: the 90% abortion rate of our children. Read more at Renew America.

Rep McMorris Rogers honored for advocationg for the disabled

McMorris Rodgers to Receive “Justice for All” Award by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)

This honor is well deserved and it gives me satisfaction to know that Eric Holder will have to give an award to Congresswoman McMorris Rogers, a pro-lifer, and Patrick Kennedy will have to sit next to her.
 He, being a Catholic who openly dissed Bishopo Tobin over abortion should be another pro-lifer.
Anyway, congratulations Congresswoman, you are a credit to your office! KIDS salutes you! (She is addressing the March for Life this January in the photo with her son Cole who has T21, right after we met with her for our KIDS rally)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) will join business leaders and other Members of Congress to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on Wednesday. As a leading advocate for people with disabilities, Rep. McMorris Rodgers will be recognized by the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) with the “Justice for All” award for her outstanding leadership on the issue.
She will join the authors of the ADA and several other award recipients to help celebrate the anniversary of this landmark legistlation.
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) Awards Ceremony and 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

KIDS on The Face of Pro-life

I discuss my plans for advocating for children with Down syndrome on The Face of Pro-life TV Show.

Mainstream media ignore the March for Life

Hardly  a news headline, is it, that the mainstream media studiously ignore the largest grassroots event in DC every year. We are used to it and trying to overcome it, by using the New Media.
Here's a lackluster article by the Washington Times. Notice the close ups, No one takes the panoramic shots of the huge crowd which were taken at the Inauguration where "even the birds were impressed by the crowd".
I was impressed by the crowd, because, unlike previous years, I never saw the end of it. It just kept coming, younger and stronger than before (at least the reporter noted that the crowd consisted of mostly collge kids, not what Newsday once said pejoritavely in the 70's, "middle-aged housewives with meatloaf sandwiches". This middle aged housewife had fresh sandwiches from the lovely spread put out by the National Right to Life Committee after a mini-conference with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers and her son Cole. This photo is from her email describing her participation in the March for Life.
I'll share the photos we took later, for now,  go to Neil Sloan's collection of photos on Picassa.

Meet me at the March for Life

My group Keep Infants with Down Syndrome will be hosting a reception with Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA) who is on the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus at 10:30 AM at:
National Right to Life Headquartes
512 10th Street, NW
Washington DC 20004
(202)626-8800

At noon, after an hour's worth of inspirational speeches, free refreshements and fellowship, we will take up our signs, don our signature blue and yellow scarves and take KIDS to the streets. We will join the March for Life, a short walk from NRTL headquarters, and march together in solidarity for the unborn child with Downs yndrome 90%of whom are being denied life through abortion.

Join us!

Keep Infants with Down syndrome is on the march again!

FAMILES WHO HAVE CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

TO MARCH TOGETHER IN THE 2010 MARCH FOR LIFE in D.C.

TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE HIGH INCIDENCE OF ABORTING BABIES WITH DOWN SYNDROME

KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome), a group of families who have children with Down syndrome, will meet for the second year in a row and walk together in the 2010 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

KIDS wants to raise awareness about the 90% abortion rate of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, to challenge the misinformation that often leads mothers to abort their babies with Down syndrome, and to proclaim the joy their children bring to their families and communities.

DATE & TIME: Friday, January 22, 2009, 11:00 a.m. to Noon

LOCATION: National Right to Life Committee, 512 10th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.

 Meet for refreshments prior to walking together in the 2010 March for Life

This event is open to individuals with Down syndrome and their families and friends.

For more information please contact Eileen Haupt or Leticia Velasquez.

Eileen Haupt

vteileen@comcast.net

Leticia Velasquez

marysjoys@yahoo.com

Thank you Congressman Chris Smith

For recognizing the Appreciation Award from Keep Infants with Down Syndrome on your website, which we gave you last January. You are an outstanding advocate for all unborn children, typical or disabled and we are proud to call you our friend.

Come and see our new KIDS blog and keep up with the latest news.

Listen to the latest Among Women podcast, where Pat Gohn and I discuss how I became a pro-life advocate and began KIDS with Eileen Haupt.

KIDS in the National Right to Life News and Views

An excellent article by Dave Andrusko on the grassroots movement that gave rise to KIDS Keep Infants with Down syndrome, and our participation in the March for Life this year.
Read the entire article here.

KIDS in National Right to Life News and Views

"Tragically, the great majority of babies who are diagnosed with Down syndrome while still in the womb are never welcomed into a family. Of those parents who are told their unborn child has Down syndrome at least 90% choose to abort the baby.
The enormity of this crisis led Eileen Haupt and Leticia Velasquez, who both have daughters with Down syndrome, to work together to challenge the misinformation that often leads a mother to abort her child diagnosed to have Down syndrome. As Haupt said, "The one thing that prenatal testing cannot tell you is the unspeakable joy that your child with Down syndrome will give you."
Though Eileen Haupt and I met for the first time in person at the March, the closeness of our kindred spirits continue to amaze me. For example, when asked to add my own thoughts to Dave Andrusko for this article, I was left speechless by the elegance of the above quote from Eileen. Those are my sentiments exaclty, I thought, what more could I add?
We sense that God has formed a team with us, and that our work with KIDS is just beginning. . .
Read the entire story here.

KIDS at the March for Life

Here is a sneak preview of KIDS at the March for Life. The weather, thanks to many prayers, was a balmy 45 degrees, and spirits were high as we assembled in the National Right to Life Headquarters.

Seen with Eileen Haupt is Rep Cathy McMorris Rogers, part of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus. She gave KIDS a warm welcome in her office later that day.

A dozen members of the group Youth with a Mission were with us and posted their photos here.

Christina on "Face of Pro-life"

Click here to watch my interview about Christina and KIDS on "The Face of Pro-life"
on http://www.airmaria.com/
What a beautiful way to commemorate Sanctity of Life Sunday.

Sandra Cano is with us in our KIDS endeavor

A note of support from Sandra Cano who was used as "Doe" in Doe v Bolton the Supreme Court case which accompanied Roe v Wade legalizing abortion. Sandra is completely pro-life and is dedicated to setting the record straight on the lies used in her case.

i just had to write and say how special you are.
My name is sandra cano and i was the Doe in Doe V Bolton.
A case based on lies deceite and fraud,only not on my part.This case went to the supreme court of america as companion case to Roe v Wade which Doe created abortion up to nine months based on health.I have been fighting many years to get the truth out and overturn this case of murder on the unborn.I do not beleive in abortion nor have i ever yet my name is linked to Doe for my lifetime.
My heart goes out to children and i have been blessed to have two special need grandsons that i have raised.My oldest i have had him since a week old.My daughter wanted to abort him and i said i want him.He will be eighteen years old this sunday.He has autisim and mental retardation.The other is twelve and mild autism.So many battles have i fought for the rights of these kids.
I am so happy that you and the other lady are making a stand especialy at the life rallys in Washington.Bless you.
All children have a right to life and the mentally challenged are gifts from God. I can not even think of life with out my grandsons. I would have had a empty life.They are the air i breath and every day is a new adventure but life in any form is special.

Thank you for your time.
sandra cano