Time Change for KIDS Event - 10:30 a.m. !

Because of Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers' schedule, it is necessary to move the KIDS event on January 22nd to 10:30 a.m.  Cathy will be with us from 10:30 to 11:00.

Hope to see you there!

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to Speak at KIDS Event

We are thrilled to announce that Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers will join us at the KIDS event on January 22, prior to the March for Life!  She will be with us from 11:00 to 11:30 at the offices of the National Right to Life Committee.

Rep. McMorris Rodgers represents the State of Washington's 5th district.  She and her husband Brian have an almost-3-year-old son named Cole who has Down syndrome.  She is a champion for individuals with Down syndrome and other special needs in Congress.  She is founder and co-chair of the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus.

Cathy warmly welcomed a group of KIDS families to her office after last year's March for Life.  We are blessed to have her advocating for our children in Congress.  We are looking forward to seeing her again on January 22!

Save the Date!

Save the date for our second annual gathering of KIDS families and friends!  We will again meet at the offices of the National Right to Life Committee just prior to the 2010 March for Life in Washington, D.C., and then walk over together to join the March for Life.  NRLC will generously provide sandwiches and refreshments before we head off to the March.

Individuals with Down syndrome, their families and friends, are invited to join us.  Come and help raise awareness of the tragically high abortion rate of babies with Down syndrome and show support to individuals with Down syndrome, born and unborn.

Here are the essentials.  Stay tuned for more information!
Date:  Friday, January 22, 2010

Time:  11:00 a.m. to Noon

Place:  Offices of the National Right to Life Committee

            512 10th Street, NW, Washington D.C.

IDSC Interview with Reese's Rainbow

Our friends at IDSC have posted Part I of their interview with Andrea Roberts of Reese's Rainbow.  Reese's Rainbow assists families in adopting children with Down syndrome and other special needs from foreign countries.  Read IDSC's interview with Andrea to find out more about this important ministry and how you can help. 

We Are Not a Pro-Life Nation

We Are Not a Pro-Life Nation
In this post at Creative Minority Report, Matthew says that a nation which aborts 92% of children with Down syndrome is NOT a pro-life nation, despite reports to the contrary. Dozens of readers agree with him.

We have a friend out there; Archbishop Chaput

We have an articulate advocate out there; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver. Last week, at an October 16 meeting of the Phoenix Catholic Physicians Guild, Archbishop Chaput had a lot to say about the importance of doctors supporting mothers who are expecting children with Down syndrome.
"In practice, medical professionals now can steer an expectant mother toward abortion simply by hinting at a list of the child’s possible defects. The most debased thing about this kind of pressure is that doctors know better than anyone else how vulnerable a woman can be when she hears potentially tragic news about her unborn baby.I’m not suggesting that doctors should hold back vital knowledge from parents. Nor should doctors paint an implausibly upbeat picture of life with a child who has disabilities. But doctors, genetic counselors, and medical school professors should have on staff—or at least on speed dial—experts of a different sort.
Parents of children with special needs, special education teachers and therapists, and pediatricians who have treated children with disabilities often have a hugely life-affirming perspective. Unlike prenatal caregivers, these professionals have direct knowledge of persons with special needs. They know their potential. They’ve seen their accomplishments. They can testify to the benefits of parental love and faith. Expectant parents deserve to know that a child with Down syndrome can love, laugh, learn, work, feel hope and excitement, make friends, and create joy for others. These things are beautiful precisely because they transcend what we expect. They witness to the truth that every child with special needs has a value that matters eternally."

Read his entire column at First Things.

We applaud this and hope that more doctors will look for those of us who love special needs children to be advocates for mothers under great pressure to abort their children. We know how much difference a bit of support can make at this crucial moment in their lives, this is the reason we formed KIDS.
It's nice to know we have a friend.

KIDS featured on the Among Women podcast

Catholic Exchange columnist Pat Gohn interviewed me on her award winning Among Women podcast this week. It's number 30.

We discussed how I became active in the pro-life movement, and how having a daughter with Down syndrome made me create KIDS last year with Eileen.