Study: Negativity Often Tied to Down Syndrome Diagnoses

"Outside of the womb we take extra care of the handicapped, with special parking spaces and institutes. Inside the womb we kill them because of it. It's a very schizophrenic approach to things," said J.C. Willke, an obstetrician whose "Handbook on Abortion," first published in 1971, is sometimes referred to as the bible of the antiabortion movement.

"A compassionate approach by a physician certainly could make a difference in limiting the number of these babies that are killed," he said.

Some public health officials agree. California is one of two states to offer both prenatal screening and comprehensive informational counseling to all pregnant women, regardless of age. In recent years, 55 percent of Down syndrome diagnoses there have resulted in abortions, said George Cunningham, who heads the genetic disease branch of the California Department of Health Services. "I think that if it is properly funded, fewer aborted pregnancies might very well be the ultimate effect," he said of the Kennedy-Brownback bill.

Before deciding whether to proceed with the pregnancy, the Allards, of Franklin, Mass., a suburb south of Boston, consulted friends, family members and religious advisers. They chose to have the child.

Life with Ben, now an affable 5-year-old, has brought both joy and unique challenges, Beth Allard said. He greets visitors to his home with a warm hug, and his preschool teacher calls him the "mayor" because he has so many friends. But he is also prone to frequent illness, including near-chronic sinus infections. It took Allard time to get used to people staring occasionally because he looks different. Once a woman saw her with Ben and said, "I am so sorry." "It's tough sometimes, but you roll with it," Allard said as Ben ate breakfast with his brother, Max, 2, one recent weekday. "He is the biggest blessing, not only for my husband and I, but for our whole family."

The Allards attended the Kennedy-Brownback news conference in Washington last month and said they were surprised to see a large number of antiabortion activists.

Beth Allard said she is slightly uncomfortable with some of the conclusions drawn by abortion opponents from stories such as hers.

"I want this to be about these kids and what they can accomplish," she said. "I don't really have an opinion on what decision someone else should make."