All Lives Matter

Sep 9, 2015, by Dawn Gibson

All lives matter.

We hear this on a regular basis on TV, on the internet, people chanting, signs being held.... but do we believe it? Do all lives really matter? I read an article today about a law passed last year in the state of Pennsylvania, stating that parents are to be given immediate current and accurate information about Down syndrome at the time of diagnosis (usually at a prenatal visit). This law is called "Chloe's Law". The intent of the law is to give parents the information they need to make educated decisions about the future of their child. Chloe's parents hope that other parents will now think twice before deciding to terminate a pregnancy after receiving the diagnosis of Down syndrome.

Heather Sachs, vice president of advocacy and public policy for the National Down Syndrome Society, said parents decide to terminate because they fear the unknown. They wrongly believe that babies with Down syndrome will have short lives, be unable to assimilate and “have no future,” she said.
“A lot of it has to do with misconceptions out there, which is what Chloe’s Law aims to dispel,” Sachs said. “But these kids become productive members of society.”

I believe that every life DOES matter. Every life is valuable, each child fearfully and wonderfully made by their Creator. Some children are born with an extra chromosome, or maybe one too few, those who don't look or act in a typical fashion, whose brains learn differently, or limbs move spastically...children that aren't "the norm". Their lives matter, too. No more than anyone else, and certainly no less.

Life is precious.