No matter whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, it seems like there’s one thing to be agreed upon: Parents-to-be who find out their baby in utero will have Down syndrome deserve access to solid information and support.
Thanks to Chloe Kondrich, 11, and her father, Kurt, that’s going to happen in Pennsylvania. The two are behind new legislation known as Chloe’s Law that requires health care experts to provide women who get a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome with factual and supportive information from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
A former policeman, Kurt Kondrich has been a dedicated advocate since Chloe’s birth in 2003, when he and his wife learned that she had DS. He went on to get a masters degree in Early Intervention, and now works full-time on the Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention. Chloe, meanwhile, is quite the media star—her dad notes that she’s been in magazines, books and newspapers, and regularly mingles with politicians.
Between 60 to 90 percent of women who receive a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis end the preganncy, according to a 2012 meta-analysis of 24 studies in the journal Prenatal Diagnosis. The evidence suggests that termination rates have actually decreased in recent years. It makes sense that worried parents who get support may be less likely to abort a baby with Down syndrome.
Chloe, who attends Boyce Middle School in Pittsburgh, reads at the same level of her sixth-grade peers. She stood with Governor Tom Corbett as he signed Chloe’s Law. As State Rep. Jim Marshall (R), the prime sponsor for the act, said, “We hope this will raise awareness to parents who may get the diagnosis and be initially afraid of what the result will be. I think it will raise awareness that their kid is going to be different, not imperfect. There really isn’t anything more perfect than a happy child.”
From my other blog:
8 ways to include kids with special needs in programs, events, classes, camps, wherever
Let It Go, like you’ve never heard it sung
The shocking realities of raising children with disabilities, and why society needs to know
Image: Kurt Kondrich