Governor of Alaska Gives Birth to Down’s Syndrome Baby
April 27th, 2008 at 02:19am Mark Noonan
Please pray for the Governor, her newborn child, and her whole family:
Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin on Friday gave birth to her fifth child, a son who has Down’s Syndrome. She said that she and her family had been “truly blessed.”
Governor Palin’s labor began while she was in Texas at the Governors’ Energy Conference where she gave the keynote luncheon address. She was able to fly back to Alaska in time to deliver her son, Trig Paxon Van Palin, at 6:30 a.m. He was born one month early and weighed six pounds, two ounces.
Testing during early pregnancy revealed the baby had Down’s Syndrome. Governor Palin said she was sad at first, but her family now feels blessed that God chose them.
The family released a statement which said, “Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed.”
One of the sadder aspects of our Culture of Death is that Down’s Syndrome babies are getting very rare - all too often parents of such children view this gift from God as a curse, and rather than lovingly endure, they kill their unborn child. As the younger brother of an autistic man, I understand pretty well the challenges a family faces when a child is born with some sort of defect…but I would not trade my brother for all the money in the world, and I am grateful to God that I was honored to be in a family with such a brother. My experience of Down’s Syndrome children is limited, but from what I understand they are the most amazingly loving children one could ask for - perhaps God has permitted them to not have all the faculties we consider normal, but has instead allowed them to be a very direct conduit of God’s love for his children?
The Governor and her family have some trials ahead of them - no one will pretend that a Down’s Syndrome baby isn’t difficult to care for - but I have immense respect for a family which gratefully accepts what God gives.
Entry Filed under: Announcements, Life Issues, Republicans, Social Issues
14 Comments
1. Christian Wright | April 27th, 2008 at 8:32 am
“…perhaps God has permitted them to not have all the faculties we consider normal, but has instead allowed them to be a very direct conduit of God’s love for his children?”
So people with Down Syndrome are part of God’s plan, but perfectly healthy homosexuals are not?
2. js | April 27th, 2008 at 8:43 am
since when was deviant sexual behavior part of healthy human sexuality….or are you ignorant of the truth?
3. js | April 27th, 2008 at 8:48 am
in these days of instant removal of hardship’s, most do take the easy way out…yet the straight and narrow path..and respect for human life no matter what age it is…is a defining characture and noble representation…facing a challenge…so great…a display of love we all should realize….sets her far above the skid pans of abortionists…..morally and intellectualy brave…she respects life like we all should
4. Christian Wright | April 27th, 2008 at 9:19 am
People do not choose to be gay; they are born that way, therefore they most be part of God’s Plan too.
5. js | April 27th, 2008 at 9:22 am
thats a lie cw
6. Sue | April 27th, 2008 at 9:50 am
There is absolutely no proof than homosexuals are “born that way”. People live with all sorts of temptations, including deviant sexual temptations and do not act on them. Even homosexuals. Just because someone has “urges” does not mean he/she needs to act upon them. It’s a choice to act on them.
Downs syndrome is not a choice. They are clearly born that way and there is genetic proof that that is true.
Why is everything about homosexuality with you? This is about a family who has made the choice to honor God and value life.
7. Mark Noonan | April 27th, 2008 at 10:33 am
CW,
Oh, for Pete’s sake…here is just a nice thread about a wonderful event, and you have to go sh** all over it…
8. alaska » Blog Archi&hellip | April 27th, 2008 at 10:39 am
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptGovernor of Alaska Sarah Palin on Friday gave birth to her fifth child, a son who has Down’s Syndrome. She said that she and her family had been “truly blessed.” Governor Palin’s labor began while she was in Texas at the Governors’ … [...]
9. Christian Wright | April 27th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
If homosexuality is a choice, then why are the suicide rates of gay teenagers through the roof?
Why don’t they just be straight?
Answer: Because it is not a choice. They can no longer change their nature than I can change my eye color.
They kill themselves because they cannot change who they are and because people like you make them believe a fulfilling life is impossible.
JS: Who are you to say what is a lie? Do you have special insight into God’s Plan?
10. Robert | April 27th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Wow, Mark this is a great post and a wonderful admission of your humanity.
You see, Mark, caring for those who have been less fortunate and born with disabilities is an amazing task. It is more difficult than anyone can ever imagine. I know this because I work every day with kids that have autism and mental retardation.
My job is as a support therapist for children with disabilities. I also just fiinished my Master’s in Special Ed. and may become a teacher in an autistic support classroom.
And guess what, Mark? I am a LIBERAL!!!! And I am also AGNOSTIC!!! That DOES NOT keep me from caring!!!!
Liberals DO care, Mark. Yet you always seem to refuse this fact to blame Liberals and the left for all the country’s political and social ills.
You really need to show the love and support that you actually do show for those with disabilities to the rest of humanity, Mark.
Liberals are actually one of the most caring groups of people I know. In fact, most of the people I work with and have children with disabilities are LIBERALS!!!
Maybe you should stop looking at the evils that you think the left does and start looking at what they do that is good, which is plenty.
Besides which, has your family received support services for your brother? Many families with children who are disabled rely absolutely on government funds for these programs which help sustain the lives of their children.
Yet Conservatives always want to cut funding for social programs. Bush’s great plan of No Child Left Behind has been absolutely destructive to children with disabiliities.
Could your brother actually be able to pass the rigorous state testing that Bush’s policies require? NCLB destroys the ability of teachers to actually HELP children with disabilities because every ounce of time is dedicated to teaching to the state tests. Many kids do NOT get the help that they so desperately need because of cutbacks in budgets of schools and social programs.
Also, a strong socialized health care program for ALL Americans would allow these children to get the help that they need, since the job of raising a disabled child is SO expensive that even rich families have a tough time doing it.
The costs of helping these children are ASTRONOMICAL! Parents need all the help they can get.
Yet Conservatives always want to cut these programs because the bottom line means more than actually caring for these kids.
Mark, do you not see that adhering to these policies is cutting your brother’s throat? Do you not see the millions of children who could not survive without these programs in place? You talk about Liberals being cruel!
People need help, Mark. And acting like you are better than everyone else like you do in most of your posts does not help anyone.
If your care for your brother the way you do, you are obviously more compassionate than you usually seem.
Maybe you should try to convey that compassion by how you treat others on this blog and stop blaming Liberals for all the world’s ills.
Some of us Liberals REALLY do care Mark. You do NOT have to be a Christian to do good for this world Mark. Maybe it is time you realized that.
11. Timothy Horrigan | April 27th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Hmm, Mark… do you have any data on the number of living people with Down’s Syndrome to back up your assertion that the number is dropping because they are being selectively aborted?
It seems to me that you see MORE children and adults who have Downs Syndrome these days, not merely because more are being born but also because they are living longer and because they are living in the mainstream of society rather than in institutions. I don’t think we can necessarily thank the Republicans specifically for the fact that these people are living longer, more productive and happier lives.
12. Timothy Horrigan | April 27th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I have a couple of comparative statistics. In the USA, the incidence of Down Syndrome is roughly 1 in 800 births (12.5 per 10k). It is much higher when the mother is in her 40s as Gov. Palin is: up to 1 in 45 if the mother is over 45.
In liberal Britain, where the socialized national health service provides abortion on demand, the incidence of own Syndrome is estimated to be twice the American number I just mentioned: 24 births per 10,000. These figures don’t disprove Mark’s thesis (that Down Syndrome babies are being aborted in much larger numbers than in the past, thanks to them mean ol’ liberals and Row v. Wade) but they sure don’t support what Mark said, either.
13. Tractatus | April 27th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Oh, for Pete’s sake…here is just a nice thread about a wonderful event, and you have to go sh** all over it…
Let’s see…you use the birth of a child with Down Syndrome as an excuse to assail pro-choice people for being pro-choice, to call those who don’t agree with you on abortion “the Culture of Death,” and to invent a connection between abortion and the rate of birth of children with Down Syndrome.
Interesting definition of “nice” you have there, Noonan.
14. ViralNexus | April 27th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
In addition to what Tim had to say- 2 out of my wifes 3 pregnancies involved testing for Downs (both because of an inacurate conceived date). We were told that these tests are optional and almost always done at 5 months. A late term abortion is anything after 16 weeks and are almost always performed in serious cases where there is a direct threat to the mother. 32 states have made late term abortions illegal unless such a perdicament exists. So that kind of blows the abortion related to low Downs rate argument.
I’m tired of this stupid homosexuality is a choice argument. Who you are sexually attracted to is a function of the brain. You do not DECIDE that you are attracted to women if you are a man. It is not a social expectation (in the sense that you choose to be attracted to women). Your attraction to a female is purely a chemical reaction in your brain. This is the same case for women who are attracted to women and men who are attracted to men. There are however cases where women who have been horribly abused by men have become lesbians and men who have been raped by men (i.e prison, pedophilia) have become gay. But again this is a re-wiring of the brain, not really a free choice. People who think they can choose who they are attracted to are complete morons- end of story.