An extra copy of chromosome 21 changes the lives of children born with it, and of their parents.
The US Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s youngest child Trig was born with Down’s Syndrome, bringing this abnormality back in focus. Down’s Syndrome is caused when there are three copies instead of two of chromosome 21.
This happens at the time of conception and it is believed that the advancing age of the mother could be one of the reasons even though in percentage terms, more babies with Down’s Syndrome are born to younger mothers, a reflection of the fertility of that group.
Palin’s decision to keep the child even though she found out before the birth about the abnormality (some of it also has to do with the fact that she is anti-abortion) is in keeping with the growing body of evidence and supporters who feel that people with Down’s Syndrome can lead normal, productive lives.
This awareness is a far cry from the days when children with this condition were normally institutionalised, as happened with playwright Arthur Miller’s son with his third wife.
Miller, who kept this a secret for much of his life — so much so that the son did not know that Miller was his father — met his son properly as late as in the 1990s. Miller’s excising his son from his life so completely (Miller never went to meet his son before that) was probably due to the shame that came attached with the condition.
Cut then to the noughties where Palin who may become the second most-powerful person in the world, is happy to be photographed with her son with the widest possible smile. This turnaround has come with greater understanding that living with Down’s Syndrome isn’t necessarily all darkness and misery. In fact, Miller’s son has and continues to live a full life.
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A San Diego-based company is working on a pre-natal test called SEQureDX which promises more accurate results and is non-invasive unlike the tests that currently exist in the market right now. Will this mean that there will no longer any babies like Trig being born?
And would the world be a better place because of that? No matter how much medical science progresses, there will be no easy answers or point of view to these questions. But till society can solve this conundrum, hopefully more parents will accept this abnormality and enjoy the joys of seeing their special children grow up.
