FAW: … even though Benjamin has Down syndrome.<\/p>\n
BETH ALLARD: Just like any other child, you give him an opportunity, and work with them, and they can do whatever they aspire to do.<\/p>\n
FAW (To Ms. Allard): Even if they’re different?<\/p>\n
Ms. ALLARD: Yeah.<\/p>\n
FAW: Now Beth Allard marvels at her son. But when she remembers what her pediatrician told her when she was pregnant at 36, she can only shudder.<\/p>\n
Ms. ALLARD: She said, “I just want to let you know what your life’s going to be like. He’s going to make your life hell. He won’t be able to read or write or do anything. He may not be able to speak.” The reason I considered terminating the pregnancy was, well, my doctor’s telling me this. And I don’t know much about it, so maybe she’s right and I really need to do this.<\/p>\n
FAW: Largely because of her Catholic faith, Beth Allard decided to continue her pregnancy.<\/p>\n
ELLEN WIXTED (Talking to Husband): My concern is that if I do that …<\/p>\n
FAW: Seven years ago, faced with the prospect of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome and heart defects that often afflict those infants, Ellen Wixted, 35, chose to abort her baby.<\/p>\n
Ms. WIXTED: I just couldn’t imagine having all of the normal stresses of being a parent and on top of that, you know, raising a child with really, you know, potentially very severe physical disabilities as well as an unknown degree of mental retardation. All I could envision was a spiral of, sort of not being able to work, not being able to work in the studio, not being able to, you know, have a normal life. What that led to logically was ending the pregnancy, which I felt was morally wrong.<\/p>\n
FAW: Now, with two children born later, Ellen Wixted says that decision to abort haunts her as much today as it tormented her then.<\/p>\n