Saving Children Who Were Going to Be Killed

Attempts to Save Children Who Have Been Identified for Selective Termination

Surrogacy, abortion, the selective termination of infants with Down syndrome, and child maltreatment are all issues raised in the current incident surrounding the Thai surrogate baby Gammy. It is understandable why the tale has attracted a global audience, and Christians should use the chance to advocate for the defenseless and defenseless children.

When the Thai surrogate mother, Pattaramon, claimed that the Farnells, Gammy’s real parents, had abandoned him because he had Down syndrome but had taken his twin sister back to Australia, the story initially made headlines over a week ago. The Farnells turned to Thailand and paid Pattaramon approximately $15,000 to be the surrogate mother since surrogacy was prohibited in Australia. In response, the Farnells’ friends and relatives insisted that Pattaramon’s allegations were untrue.

When the media learned that Mr. Farnell had a criminal history of many sex crimes with minors under the age of thirteen, the plot became more complicated. When Pattaramon learned, she requested that her twin daughters be given back to her. Australian authorities, however, declared that what the Farnells did was legitimate since it is not always against the law for ex-sex offenders to have children via surrogacy abroad.

After a week, the Farnells eventually addressed the Australian media in public, denying that they had abandoned Gammy. However, they also said that they would have attempted to have Gammy terminated if they had known he had Down syndrome earlier in the pregnancy. Mr. Farnell said, “I don’t believe anybody wants a kid with a handicap; parents want their children to be healthy. As he adds, “They provided us with the results, but they didn’t complete the tests early enough. It was late in the pregnancy that we realized the baby had Down’s.” He claimed that he was upset with the company they hired and had expected a financial reimbursement since he felt they should have had control over the child’s well-being and “quality.”

Numerous defenseless Down syndrome youngsters have lost their lives as a result of selective termination. Many physicians recommend amniocentesis, a procedure that helps identify if the baby has indications of Down syndrome, to pregnant women, just as they ocedure that helps identify if the baby has indications of Down syndrome, to pregnant women, just as they suggested it to my wife and me during her pregnancy (we refused). According to some research, between 75% and 90% of women who have an amniocentesis and learn that their unborn child has Down syndrome decide to terminate the child. As a result, according to the International Down Syndrome Coalition, almost 50% of Down syndrome babies have been aborted as of 2006.

A Child is a gift from God, not a manufactured product.

Recently, a friend of mine shared with me the moment she and her husband learned that their daughter had Down syndrome. The physicians recommended doing an amniocentesis since they had noticed that her daughter’s neck was thicker than typical throughout the pregnancy. The doctor was perplexed when she and her husband refused. She said that “even some of my pals felt I was unusual.” Why bother taking the test when it wouldn’t have affected my choice to raise this child? When the baby was born, it was discovered that she indeed had Down syndrome. She recalls feeling annoyed when the nurses continued apologizing to her and seemed depressed in general. “That day, my husband and I both sobbed over it, and we determined that would be the only time.”

My friend’s family’s experience and the Farnells’ experience are very unlike each other. When we judge a child’s worth based on his or her physical or mental health, we are treating them more like consumer goods than as priceless gifts from God. The kid is fashioned in the likeness of God and is just as lovely and wonderful as anybody else, regardless of whether he or she is male or female, has blond hair or jet-black hair, or has Down syndrome. Adults must treat children with the same love and care that God expects of parents from the moment they are conceived through childhood and into maturity. The Australian government should step in because Mr. Farnell had bad intentions for kids both inside and outside the womb.

The issue should serve as a reminder for Christians to protect children from harm and work for their wellbeing both inside and outside of the womb. Selective termination encourages the notion that kids are commodities to be loved and protected rather than gifts from God, and God will condemn this injustice. God has tremendous joy in watching individuals selflessly care for and defend those who have nothing to give in return. We need to thank God that Gammy is still alive today and ask for his well-being. I praise you, because I am fearfully and wonderfully formed, the psalmist exclaims (Psalm 139:14). Gammy feels the same way, and I hope that eventually he will say these things on his own.