Actress Patricia Heaton is known for her roles in "The Middle" and “Everybody Loves Raymond.” However, not everyone knows that she is passionately pro-life.
Heaton wrote a column for American Magazine recently to talk about abortion and how they are targeting unborn babies with down syndrome.
Doctors are pushing genetic testing for pregnant women to see if their babies have down syndrome. If the test shows the baby likely has it, then doctors suggest an abortion. However, it is just a guess and not completely accurate.
She wrote the column in response to a CBS News tweet in August, in which they were praising Iceland for 'nearly eliminating Down syndrome.' Only they aren't eliminating the abnormality, but rather the every unborn baby that may have it.
“I was taken aback when I read the CBS News tweet that stated, ‘Iceland is on pace to virtually eliminate Down syndrome through abortion,’” Heaton said, “But as I tweeted on Aug. 14, the country was not, in fact, eliminating Down syndrome. They were just killing everyone who has it.”
Iceland isn't actually eliminating Down Syndrome. They're just killing everybody that has it. Big difference. #Downsyndrome #abortion https://t.co/gAONIzqRXW
— Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) August 15, 2017
With the rise of prenatal screening tests across Europe and the United States, the number of babies born with Down syndrome has significantly decreased, but few countries have come as close to eradicating Down syndrome births as Iceland.
Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women — close to 100 percent — who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.
Down Syndrome is a genetic disorder concerning chromosome 21, also referred to as trisomy 21. While it is a genetic disorder, it does not define the person who has it. They are not the disorder.
Heaton added, "While countries like Iceland are praised for their state-funded health care, the struggle to keep costs down creates an environment in which those who choose to give birth to a Down syndrome child may be considered selfish for using up precious resources. More recently, the Dutch Ministry of Health published a list of the 10 most expensive diseases, with Down syndrome at the top."
“In a world where we are daily conditioned to expect an environment that caters to our every need and desire, we must remind ourselves that the value of our lives and the lives of others is based not on material wealth or accomplishments but on the intrinsic worth we all possess as human beings created by God and in his image,” she said.
“It was a deeply hopeful display of true humanity—the loving spirit of inclusivity that regards all lives as precious incarnations of our Creator, worthy of love and entitled to life,” Heaton concluded.
