Washington Post columnist George Will had a touching piece this week coinciding with the 40th birthday of his son Jon who has Down syndrome. He writes that when Jon was born the life expectancy for people with Down syndrome was about 20 years and “they were still commonly called Mongoloids.” He continues:
Now they are called American citizens about 400000 of them and their life expectancy is 60. Much has improved. There has however been moral regression as well … This era has coincided not just coincidentally with the full garish flowering of the baby boomers’ vast sense of entitlement which encompasses an entitlement to exemption from nature’s mishaps and to a perfect baby. So today science enables what the ethos ratifies the choice of [terminating such pregnancies] before birth. That is what happens to 90 percent of those whose parents receive a Down syndrome diagnosis through prenatal testing.
This writes Will “is unfortunate and not just for them. Judging by Jon the world would be improved by more people with Down syndrome who are quite nice as humans go.” They often bring out the best in others too. “They have no choice but to be trusting because [they] always depend on the kindness of strangers. Judging by Jon’s experience they almost always receive it.”
Papa Will writes that his son is an avid baseball fan and that the players he meets at the ballpark
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