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Thursday, October 20, 2016

Day 19: Down Syndrome and Adoption

Down Syndrome Awareness Month - Day 19

Why are there so many children with Down syndrome waiting to be adopted outside the United States?

The simple answer is that there are so many children waiting because these countries don't do prenatal screening so the parents do not know ahead of time that their child will be born with Down syndrome. Since they don't know about it ahead of time, they cannot abort their child.

The more in depth answer is that in many of these countries, children with special needs are seen as a stain on the family line and if they're not given up for adoption, it can be virtually impossible for the other children in the family to get married and have families of their own.

In addition to this, there is also the fact that many of these countries don't have the medical technology that we have readily available and even if they wanted to keep their child, they'd have a hard time finding and affording medical care or occupational therapy.

No matter how much parents might want to keep their child, they sometimes do so for the simple fact that the child will have a better chance to live if they're adopted internationally.

Outside St. Hripsime Church

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