Discussion of the election has been banned by moderators on public discussion groups for families of children with Down syndrome after hateful exchanges instigated by supporters of the rock star Sarah Palin. Here are a few articles that may be of interest to supporters of Barack Obama and Joe Biden who do not have the great fortune to have a person with Down syndrome in their families or among their friendship circle: Welcoming Babies with Down Syndrome http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32534.aspSarah Palin and Down Syndrome Awarenesshttp://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art58737.asp Special Needs Children at About.com - What do you want Sarah Palin to do for your family?
http://specialchildren.about.com/b/2008/09/04/whats-your-special-needs-political-wish-list.htm Why is there not a wish list there like this: What do we want Barack Obama and Joe Biden to do for our families? See #7/ Should we assume the McCain campaign is going to make a lot of expensive promises to the disability community? http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/09/05/questions-we-get-questions/ Longmore: Palin talks about 'special needs children,' but Obama has substantive plans for all people with disabilities http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/10/05/longmore-on-campaign/ From a comment at PatriciaEBauer.com "As VP debate looms, coverage of Palin and disability": ...Biden has twice introduced a bill in the Senate that aims to prevent crimes against disabled people and improve the quality of service that we get from the criminal justice system. Dick Sobsey from the International Coalition on Abuse & Disability blogs about it at the following links:
http://icad.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/joe-biden-and-the-crime-victims-with-disabilities-act-of-2007/
http://icad.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/biden-crime-victims-with-disabilities-act/ What are the questions on disability issues not being asked? http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/10/03/disability-questions/ Campaign Snapshots - 4 out of 5 are with Republican candidates, all are children - where are student teens and working adults with Down syndrome? http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/09/10/snapshots-campaign/ Congress OKs Kennedy Brownback Bill http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/09/25/kennedy-brownback-3/ Down Syndrome Legislative Caucus http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/09/18/legislators-down-syndrome/ Tropic Thunder Sets Back a Movement
http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/08/23/op-ed-tolleson/ A note about language for my friends in the media
http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/08/29/a-note-about-language/ Sarah Palin is using her son with Down syndrome as a platform for discussions of abortion rather than presenting real, up to date information after prenatal testing results in a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, so I have searched out these actual statements from Barack Obama about abortion: http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Barack_Obama_Abortion.htm Ok for state to restrict late-term partial birth abortion On an issue like partial birth abortion, I strongly believe that the state can properly restrict late-term abortions. I have said so repeatedly. All I've said is we should have a provision to protect the health of the mother, and many of the bills that came before me didn't have that.Part of the reason they didn't have it was purposeful, because those who are opposed to abortion have a moral calling to try to oppose what they think is immoral. Oftentimes what they were trying to do was to polarize the debate and make it more difficult for people, so that they could try to bring an end to abortions overall. As president, my goal is to bring people together, to listen to them, and I don't think that's any Republican out there who I've worked with who would say that I don't listen to them, I don't respect their ideas, I don't understand their perspective. And my goal is to get us out of this polarizing debate where we're always trying to score cheap political points and actually get things done. Source: Fox News Sunday: 2008 presidential race interview Apr 27, 2008 Q: The terms pro-choice and pro-life, do they encapsulate that reality in our 21st Century setting and can we find common ground? A: I absolutely think we can find common ground. And it requires a couple of things. It requires us to acknowledge that.. There is a moral dimension to abortion, which I think that all too often those of us who are pro-choice have not talked about or tried to tamp down. I think that's a mistake because I think all of us understand that it is a wrenching choice for anybody to think about. People of good will can exist on both sides. That nobody wishes to be placed in a circumstance where they are even confronted with the choice of abortion. How we determine what's right at that moment, I think, people of good will can differ.And if we can acknowledge that much, then we can certainly agree on the fact that we should be doing everything we can to avoid unwanted pregnancies that might even lead somebody to consider having an abortion. Source: 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College Apr 13, 2008 In 1997, Obama voted against SB 230, which would have turned doctors into felons by banning so-called partial-birth abortion, & against a 2000 bill banning state funding. Although these bills included an exception to save the life of the mother, they didn't include anything about abortions necessary to protect the health of the mother. The legislation defined a fetus as a person, & could have criminalized virtually all abortion. Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.147-148 Oct 30, 2007 Women who have children with Down syndrome who support Barack Obama have a brand new discussion group at YahooGroups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DownSyndromeMamasforObama/ Post message: DownSyndromeMamasforObama@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: DownSyndromeMamasforObama-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
My grown son was born with Down syndrome and grew up included in the mainstream of our community and public school classrooms with the support and encouragement he needed to show us his true potential. The crashing economy will have a huge effect on adults with disabilities as well as children growing up who deserve the same or better opportunities than my son enjoyed.
I believe that it is important for us to speak up and be visible in our communities so that our neighbors and extended family know we respect Barack Obama and trust him to lead us through the present economic crisis, deal with other pressing priorities that affect every person in our family and neighborhood.
You can make a difference in this election even if you cannot donate money to the campaign. Speak up and speak out about why families of adults with Down syndrome and other disabilities support our candidates, Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Post pictures of your sons and daughters with the candidates and create videos for YouTube. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. We do not trust the rock star Sarah Palin to be an effective or informed advocate for our grown sons and daughters or the average child with Down syndrome.
Women who have children with Down syndrome who strongly support Barack Obama have a new discussion group at YahooGroups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DownSyndromeMamasforObama/Post message: DownSyndromeMamasforObama@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: DownSyndromeMamasforObama-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
I recently discovered other families of individuals who have Down syndrome who are showing their support at their websites as well as offering t-shirts and other products that we are proud to wear and display. Please consider creating your own local t-shirt designs, bumper stickers and yard displays that show our support for Barack Obama. Telephone, talk with, email or write your friends, family and neighbors about why the lives of children and adults with Down syndrome will be considered and will improve when Barack Obama is elected President. Members of our church congregations should know that our prayers are with Barack Obama.Down Syndrome Advocates for Barack Obama for President 2008T-shirts and other productshttp://www.cafepress.com/downdownbaby Blue and Yellow Ribbon on black background (more colors available)Adult and Child sizes-----------------------------------------------------Families with kids with Down Syndrome Bumper Stickers and Yard Signs http://www.cafepress.com/DownSynObama"Show the world that just because your child has Down syndrome does NOT mean you support Sarah Palin. Much more goes into leading a country than the luck of giving birth to a beautiful baby with Down syndrome!"-----------------------------------There are other products that impressed me at:Americans with Disabilities for Obama http://www.cafepress.com/ObamaPWDObama * Biden (also fingerspelled) with Stars and Stripes Wheelchair http://shop.cafepress.com/design/30647184DisAbled for Obama 08 (red/white/blue wheelchair) http://shop.cafepress.com/design/20123419Autistics for Obama - Two designs http://shop.cafepress.com/design/27533753
http://shop.cafepress.com/design/28278574
Share your stories and ideas here and in your local communities.Thank you,Pam WSE of Seattle
I would appreciate seeing photographs of Senator Obama or Senator Biden shaking hands and listening to adults who have Down syndrome, posted on the internet and in news stories across the USA.
The nation should know that young adults with Down syndrome like my son are participating in supported employment programs trying to find jobs in their communities and many are on waiting lists. We are encouraged by others with Down syndrome who hold jobs, attend programs in community colleges, volunteer in their communities, or are just out and about in their neighborhoods living ordinary lives.
Babies with Down syndrome born to Democrats are even cuter than babies with Down syndrome born to Republicans and I'd like to see more babies and children from Democrats' families featured on the internet and in news stories, too. Individuals with Down syndrome like my son have grown up included in their neighborhood schools with high expectations. What they have achieved with just the small supports and accommodations needed to show us what they can make of their lives has inspired everyone in our families and circles of friends.
:-)
My son told his girlfriend's parents he is voting for Barack Obama because we need hope for the future. Truer words were never spoken. Anyone who has a snapshot of a beautiful baby, child, youth or teen with Down syndrome who has met Senator Obama or Senator Biden, please submit them to the website below and post them at the Obama/Biden website.
People with Down syndrome must be represented in this election. If you are an adult with Down syndrome reading this blog, please submit your own picture of yourself with our Democratic candidates.
Thank you!
Patricia E. Bauer wrote at patriciaebauer.com: "Readers, if you’d like to have your snapshots included here, please send them to patricia@patriciaebauer.com.
We’re looking for shots of people with Down syndrome alongside Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain, Sen. Biden or Gov. Palin. Please enclose the following information: Your full name and city or town; where and when the photo was taken; IDs and relationships of the people in the photo (and ages, for kids), and a few lines about the circumstances. Please also let us know where we may contact you. By sending photos, you are granting permission for their publication."
So far unnoticed by the mainstream media obsessed with lipstick on pigs and pit bulls is the latest bit of John McCain hypocrisy.
McCain and Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) decided on September 9 to co-sponsor Senate Bill 1810: "A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the provision of scientifically sound information and support services to patients receiving a positive test diagnosis for Down syndrome or other prenatally and postnatally diagnosed conditions."
That is the same bill that Republicans blocked in a procedural vote on strict party lines on the floor of the Senate on July 28, of this year. The bill, originally co-sponsored by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), was part of a package of health care legislation that Republicans voting along strict party lines blocked from floor action. Despite the 52-40 vote for consideration, supporters fell short of the required 60 vote majority to move the package forward.
Photo: McCain's Vice Presidential running mate Sarah Palin gave birth to Trig Paxson Van Palin, a Down Syndrome baby, on April 18.
The positive thing about Governor Palen’s addition to the Republican’s ticket is that special needs children are getting the attention that is needed to insure that funding is available for their care. Governor Palin is now an advocate. I have been writing about a family with Down’s syndrome since 2003 in my first book. I would like to share some excerpts with you from my first book “Children of Plains Estates” There story continues in my second book.
their lives. They both agreed abortion was not an option.
Claudette Milner is the author of "Children of Plains Estates" and "Unheard Voices":Children of Plains Estates"
I am a 57 year old retired government executive who currently works for a major defense contractor. I am also the mother of a 38 year old son with Down Syndrome. I got pregnant at 17. Obviously there are some common elements to our stories. Because I have been the working mother of a child with Down Syndrome for almost 40 years and because I was unmarried and pregnant at 17 , I have some feedback and advice for you.
First, I and a number of my friends with adult children with Down Syndrome were very offended by your comment last night that NOW we would have an advocate in the White House. Gov. Palin, we have had a lot of advocates in the White House including Hubert Humphrey who had a grandchild with Down Syndrome. Victoria was born on the day her grandfather was elected Vice President. Plus there are very active people in the Down Syndrome community advocating very affectively for our kids.
You are very new at this; your son is only months old and much like any other baby at that age. If you want to be an advocate for him and others please talk to parents like myself who have lived with this issue for decades and who understand what our children need not only as babies but also as adults. Then please, please, go back and look at your positions on health care, education, sex education. community services, and medicaid and make them consistent with what Trig will need. Right now there is a severe mismatch. Before you cut medicaid, understand the services and help our kids get from the program. Think about where you and Trig will be in 30 or 40 years.
Also think about the commitment you are making if elected in terms of time and energy to the position of VP over 4 very critical years of Trig's life. I have worked my son's entire life. But I worked at jobs where I had the flexibility to be with him when he was sick; to make numerous doctors appointments, to participate in his education. As VP and potentially President, you will not have that flexibility.
I would also ask that you take a very hard and long look at whether your daughter getting married at 17 pregnant is a good idea for her and her baby. Again, looking back for me getting married would have just exascerbated the problem. What your daughter needs is an education not a husband. Yes the baby needs its father, but that can happen without your daughter changing and limiting her whole life now and in the future. If she is educated and independent, then she like so many other women before her will be able to raise her child well. Getting married at 17 is likely to result in her being divorced and uneducated before the child starts school. It doesn't count as supporting her if you only consider what is best for you. My parents were wonderful. After my child was born, they helped me through college and played backup when I needed support. They never lowered their expectations for me. Don't lower your's for your daughter. So far she has already payed a high price of being paraded across the national stage at a very sensitive time for your political career. I hope it was worth it.
Govenor Palin, I am obviously an Obama supporter but I am also a woman and a mother. My heart hurts for you and your family in these difficult times. I do know what you are going through. I wish you the best.
I just finished watching Governor Palin's speech at the Republican Convention this evening, and I am stunned by the ease with which she fell into the pattern of lies and sarcasm established by the two speakers who preceded her--Giuliani and Romney. I've never heard so many lies in one evening. At one point I wondered if we were watching storytellers instead of politicians....
However, my primary problem is with the exploitation of her son with Down Syndrome. So she gave birth to an infant with Down Syndrome at 44 years of age. So she knew in advance the child would be born with a disability and chose to carry him to term anyway. Good for her. I would do the same, though I am pro-choice all the way.
In fact, my late husband and I took this farther than Governor Palin. In 1986 we adopted a newborn girl with Down Syndrome and congenital heart disease. She is now twenty-two and the light of my life. Most people call her "Princess Bonnie." My late husband often said she was born missing the mean gene.
People often say we're so brave and "good" for bringing her into our lives. On the contrary--we are the blessed ones, as she has brought us nothing but joy.
I am simply appalled to see this issue used by the Republican party as a feather in Governor Palin's cap. It isn't. It's fate.
In my case, it was a choice--a real one. My late husband was also a democrat, by the way.
Furthermore, no parent of a special needs child in the United States of America would ever vote for a Republican president. It is blatantly against the best interests of the most important people in their lives--their children.
A friend asked me how I would respond to those who question Governor Palin's ability to be a good mother while serving as governor or vice-president. Some have critiized her for returning to office so soon and "leaving" the infant. I said, "I'm the wrong person to ask, as I would strap the baby on and take him with me, since I believe in attachment parenting." I even breast-fed my adopted children. I believe a woman's right to be a mother should not prevent her from doing or being anything she chooses. That is not what makes Palin unqualified for this office. There are many, many other reasons.
Governor Palin would serve her children--especially her youngest--better by voting for Barack Obama for president.
Photos of Princess Bonnie can be viewed here: <http://www.debstover.com/family.html>
~Deb
America does not need Sarah Palin, but her family does!!!! It is irresponsible as a mother to go traipsing around the country with a man too old to run anything, including a vacuum, when her family is falling apart!
First, we learn she has a four month old baby with Down Syndrome. Now we learn she has a 17 year old pregnant, unmarried daughter! She needs to go home and be a mom. She can resume her post as governor, and be able to go home every night and care for her family!!!!!
Sarah, stick with your decision in June, 2008, not to run for the vice presidency, and go back to Alaska!
I think Sarah Palin will end up hurting the Pro life camp and also her presidential ticket.
Sarah Palin’s choice of continuing with her pregnancy even though she knew the child had Down syndrome has made me think about the abortion issue. I was surprised to realize that Sarah Palin’s choice of continuing the pregnancy symbolizes one of the most questionable and painful positions of the pro life camp. I think every body who thinks about Palin will think about her this particular choice and as a consequence think about pro life positions in a fearful way. I wonder as to why Senator McCain would try to portray pro life position in such a painful way.
She's no saint.
(for deciding to parent a child with DS)
Also.........
From Bitch Phd The Weekly Standard has a Point
1.Experience doesn't matter.
2.We should treat Palin as a serious candidate. I took little convincing on this point.
I have never been a one-issue voter. But now -- now I really do have only one issue: he's about two feet tall and he giggles when I rub my beard against his feet.
And he is why I'm voting for Barack Obama. No matter how you feel about the Democratic candidate**, the fact remains that only the Democrats are talking about changing the way healthcare works in this country. John McCain's grand idea to help families is a tax credit of $5000 to help pay healthcare premiums. Which might be fine (though not enough) in a good year --- if you're lucky enough to have insurance --- but does nothing to protect my family or anyone else's in a year where we actually have to use healthcare in any major way. McCain says nothing specific, just blank generalities, about getting insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions or regulating costs, which means that we're stuck with the policy we've got. And he's mentioned deregulating how insurance companies operate along with elminating and/or greatly reducing employer-sponsored healthcare coverage, which could mean rate increases for many more familes than are already seeing those, including my own. Compare this with Obama's plan for healthcare coverage, including guaranteed coverage for preexisting conditions in both private and public healthcare insurance systems.
That's why a vote for John McCain is a vote against my son.
Part of this -- okay, a large part, but only part -- is because of my son's health and what that is likely to cost me, both financially and emotionally over the years. I was always aware that the healthcare industry was a racket (we give money to companies whose entire profit line is based on the idea that they won't cover us or will raise our premiums if we get sick, how does that make any sense?), but it wasn't until my son's birth that I realized what a true tragedy it is in general and how we have to -- HAVE TO -- make serious changes to it if we are to survive as a country made up of more than a few that are very rich and the rest of us who are just trying to get by.
So a vote for John McCain is a vote against my son.
My family is, I guess, what would be considered to be lower middle class. My wife and I own our own home, have two cars (one family car and one beater truck), are both employed (though Amy's self-employed-- more on that in a second), and so we're pretty lucky in the scheme of things. And before Archer was born, if you had asked us, we would have said that we felt pretty good financially speaking: we were building a small savings, we had no credit card debt, and we could afford to get takeout without having to think about it. We live a pretty modest lifestyle, but we didn't feel like we were lacking any creature comforts. We'd even saved up a bit of a pregnancy fund to help pay our out-of-pocket healthcare costs during and after our pregnancy. Or so we thought. Unfortunately, because we had to go to the hospital for an emergency surgery, we were pretty immediately plunged into debt to the tune of about $12,000, with a virtual guarantee of future health expenses since Archer was born with Down Syndrome and with a small hole in his heart.
And we are among those who are lucky enough to have health insurance. Just having health insurance dropped our hospital bill for our son's birth by about eight thousand dollars-- our original hospital bill was for nearly $20,000. Having health insurance reduces the costs of every test we get, every shot we're given, and every visit to the doctor we make, even if the rest of the cost is passed on to us. Like I mentioned, Amy is self-employed, so we have a policy that she purchased that covers our family but that also comes with a huge deductible, because that's the policy we could afford. Our premiums for the year are around $3000 (the rates just jumped by nearly 30% and will rise again next year when I turn 35 as well as any other "increasing health care cost" premiums that our provider feels the need to add on) plus any copays, and as long as we don't use it -- or use it minimally -- we're okay. Amy did a lot of research when we bought it, and it covers well baby care for the first two years pre-deductible, covers most office visits with only a copay, and gives us vision benefits.
Contrast that with my employer's plan which I currently opt out of: yes, it has a smaller deductible, but would cost me -- without getting sick, without using it at all --- over $9000 out-of-pocket per year to cover our family (my premium would be half paid for by my employer, but they're a small company and can't help contribute to spousal or dependant coverage), which is nearly a quarter of my annual salary. And it doesn't have vision benefits; Amy and I both wear glasses and Archer is nearly guaranteed to need vision help. But there's no way we can afford to pay $9000 in a good year -- again, no illnesses, no unscheduled doctor visits -- even if it is pretax. That number is about what we're going to pay in this, a "bad" year, on our current policy. And that's after some debt forgiveness from the hospital and assistance through a grant for a $1500-a-month medication we had to give Archer four times over the winter so that he would survive the winter months without having to be hospitalized if he got a cold.
Which is why a vote for John McCain is a vote against my son.
So basically right now we have to keep our fingers crossed that Amy and I can stay healthy. That's all we can do. That's all we can afford. And we have to do everything we can to keep Archer well, though much of that is out of our hands, because Down syndrome comes with a number of potential future health issues. And I have to hope that the insurance policy we currently have doesn't suddenly decide to raise our rates again too soon, though they can do that whenever they want. And even if they do, I'll have no choice but to pay it even it means going into debt because, since Archer has been diagnosed with an extra chromosome, there's no way we'll ever -- EVER -- be able to get a different healthcare policy with him on it, unless I find a job that pays more than the one I have now for family coverage. And since fewer and fewer companies offer affordable health care insurance, I am not optimistic about this as a solution. What I know is that I would like to live in a country where I never again have to consider not giving my son a medication that might help save his life just because of its cost. But if a Democrat is elected president, this could change.
I truly believe we've come to a tipping point in the healthcare debate. We're the only industrialized nation that does not guarantee healthcare to its citizens -- and hell, right now, I'd be happy if we guaranteed it just to children. And even though I'm not naïve enough to think that a new Democratic president will be able to make universal healthcare a reality in the very near future, I know that we can't waste another four years with a Republican president who won't even consider it an issue worth discussing. I personally don't have the time to wait, not with my son who will be just over a year old when our new president is sworn into office.
A vote for John McCain really is a vote against my son. This perfect little guy:
*This title is obviously a bit disingenuous. But my hope was to maybe get some people who might otherwise not read it to do so. And for anyone who knows me, to have them scream WTF?!? at their computer screen before they actually got into the post.
**This post was written after talking to my father about friends and family members who have said that because Hillary Clinton did not win the Democratic nomination, they would vote for John McCain rather than for Barack Obama. This in addition to hearing and reading of other people like this all over the internet. It truly boggles my mind that this could be the case, and I hope that in some small way I -- even through complete and total pandering and emotional heartstring-pulling -- can influence them to reconsider. This is only one of the reasons that I will be voting for Obama in November and will be happy to discuss this and other motivations with anyone who asks.
See detailed analysis of John McCain's healthcare proposals here and here (where it's compared to Barack's plan).
And Barack Obama's here. This is a fair analysis and acknowledgment that his plan is far from perfect but at least attempts to tackle issues that John McCain doesn't begin to even address. And is a needed step in the path to universal healthcare.
Cross posted at disposable.
