Explain This: NBC Staffers Bash Trump's Cursing, Praise Down Syndrome Abortion
NBC News’ Ken Dilanian took a break from covering North Korea’s nuclear program or the Syrian civil war to let his Twitter followers know that he found a woman demanding the ability to abort children with disabilities “courageous.”
Washington Post deputy editorial page editor Ruth Marcus authored a column Friday titled, “I would’ve aborted a fetus with Down syndrome. Women need that right.”
In it, she argued against a new effort by pro-life groups to ban certain selective abortion practices.
In a show of solidarity, Dilanian shared the column in a tweet, calling it “courageous.”
Courageous column, @ruthmarcus “I would’ve aborted a fetus with Down syndome. Women need that right.” https://t.co/rgKeEZx49s
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) March 10, 2018
That prompting outrage in his replies from a number of parents of children with Down syndrome.
Hmm, my oldest son has Down Sydrome. The absolute light of my life. Adorable is how he is described by everyone who meets him.
— mikemcconn (@mikemcconn) March 10, 2018
They are closer to GOD… Having an angel in my house is a beautiful, loving, daily event. She showed all of us what LOVE really is …
— Arthur Rich Newman (@trespalmaskaipi) March 10, 2018
Courage is raising a child with special needs. Selfishness is getting rid of the fetus, not because you don't want to be a parent, but because it isn't perfect.
— commonsense (@commonsense258) March 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/danielmcinturff/status/972502283421396992
https://twitter.com/ABiCduckie/status/972648867471810560
In her column, Marcus wrote, “I have had two children; I was old enough, when I became pregnant, that it made sense to do the testing for Down syndrome. Back then, it was amniocentesis, performed after 15 weeks; now, chorionic villus sampling can provide a conclusive determination as early as nine weeks.
“I can say without hesitation that, tragic as it would have felt and ghastly as a second-trimester abortion would have been, I would have terminated those pregnancies had the testing come back positive. I would have grieved the loss and moved on.”
She goes on to cite the statistic that “more than two-thirds of American women choose abortion in such circumstances,” and claims that this is the “point … of prenatal testing.”
Pro-life advocates don’t dispute this number and try to inform individuals through advertising campaigns and activism that many individuals with Down syndrome end up living pleasant and fulfilling lives.
Much of Marcus’s argument revolves around the fact that a disabled child “was not the child I wanted,” and offers studies showing the average IQs of individuals with Down syndrome as a justification.
“But in the end, the Constitution mandates — and a proper understanding of the rights of the individual against those of the state underscores — that these excruciating choices be left to individual women, not to government officials who believe they know best,” she concludes.
Two days after Dilanian’s tweet, NBC’s Chuck Todd recoiled at President Donald Trump’s use of the phrase “son of a b—-” to describe him.
“I bring my kids up to respect the office of the presidency and the president. I don’t allow them to say anything negative, ever, about the president,” Todd said. “It creates a challenge to all parents when he uses vulgarities like that.”
Do you think aborting babies with Down syndrome is more offensive than Trump’s language?
Please share on Facebook and let us know what you think about Dilanian and Todd’s views.
A version of this article previously appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.
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