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A “push poll” asks someone to make a supposedly unbiased decision by slanting the question. “Would you be more or less likely to vote for Joe if you knew he had killed his grandmother?” Nevermind if Joe’s grandmothers are alive and well.
Imagine the question is more important: would you rather have a baby with Down Syndrome, or terminate the pregnancy? Given that question, apparently, 90% of women choose the latter. But frequently, the question is loaded. Down Syndrome is presented as a irredemably awful outcome, prefaced by “I’m sorry, but….” Abortion, though, with all of its cultural freight, gets presented ambiguously.
Amy Harmon wrote in yesterday’s New York Times about a campaign by parents of children with Down Syndrome, designed to give pregnant women real-life information about raising children with DS. This is because millions more women will have their pregnancies screened for genetic disorders, at the recommendation of the The American College of OB/GYNs. This means more women face a genetic disorder “diagnosis” prior to birth, according to the Times.
Except the tests don’t “diagnose.” They merely reflect an increased risk. Poorly.
For example, if a baby truly has Down Syndrome, the new tests will produce a “positive” result 78% of the time — but falsely show a negative 22% of the time. On the other hand, if the baby does not have Down Syndrome, 5-8% of tests will falsely show a positive. Confused? That’s about as much clarity as doctors can provide, without additional, invasive tests that carry their own set of risks.
But young parents hear “diagnose,” “Down Syndrome” and “terminate?” in the same sentence. If they say “no,” they’re asked if they’re sure. And then, if they’re really sure. With information so poor, presentations so slanted, and pressure so intense, it’s little wonder that 90% of women chose the option presented as some kind of alternative.
Good for these parents, who are reminding us that the numbers being given by doctors are not as important as the faces that go with them.
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Hi Jon
Found your blog linked from slate.com and I must say you make a good point. Framing a question is always loaded and it’s important to clearly explain the odds of a false positive, a false negative etc.
However the reason why doctors say “I’m sorry, but your child has down syndrome” is because it is unambiguously a Bad Thing by everyone. They also say, “I’m sorry, but the test results are positive for cancer.” Abortion, for all its cultural freight (great phrase btw) is not unambiguously considered a Bad Thing by everyone. Due to the aforementioned freight there is a great deal more sensitivity and pressure to present the option to abort neutrally in a medical setting.
Keep up the good posting
-Jed
Jed — thanks for the comment! You throw up a few lines at lunch, and come back to find yourself on Slate!
Down Syndrome is, obviously, a limitation — a bad thing. That said, I don’t think life with DS is a waste of life, any more than life with cancer is a waste of life. These parents are trying to point out that they and their children find life worthwhile. It is frustrating that the source of their trouble can’t be fixed, but the trouble does not outweigh the joy.
Whether it is cultural misconception, or political correctness, our Doctors aren’t very good at communicating the actual range of outcomes experienced by parents. In fact, they frequently magnify the ‘harm’ of DS, at least compared to the actual experience of many parents; at the same time, they minimize discussion of abortion, because of it’s a difficult topic.
The College’s recommendation means millions more women are going to be placed in this pressure-cooker of a situation. They’re asked to make a very permanent decision, under time constraints, about a relatively rare condition. Very little changes in dialogue, over millions of pregnancies, could have a big effect.
Comment by Jon 05.10.07 @ 10:59 pmLeave a comment
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