Aborting babies with Down syndrome is morally wrong and reflects a return to pagan values that deny human dignity
Source: Michael Alfonso. "Down Syndrome Babies Like My Sister-In-Law Are Not Defects." June 5, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that aborting babies with Down syndrome is wrong because it treats disabled people as defects to be eliminated. He says this goes against Christian values that see all human life as having equal worth, and instead reflects ancient pagan practices of disposing of weak children.
Conclusion
Aborting babies diagnosed with Down syndrome is morally wrong and represents a rejection of the Christian principle that all human life has inherent dignity regardless of disability
Premises
- People with Down syndrome, like the author's sister-in-law Valentina, bring joy and value to their families despite medical challenges
- Western societies abort 60-99% of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, which constitutes mass elimination of a group of people
- This practice mirrors ancient pagan societies that disposed of disabled children, viewing weakness as burdensome
- Christianity introduced the revolutionary concept of Imago Dei - that all humans bear God's image and have inherent dignity
- Human worth should not be determined by intelligence, strength, productivity, or independence, but is intrinsic to being human
- The practice pressures families to view disabled children as defects rather than recognizing their potential contributions
- America was founded on Christian principles that recognize life as the first unalienable right endowed by the Creator
Assumptions
- Christian moral framework provides the correct standard for evaluating human worth
- Personal anecdotes about one child with Down syndrome can be generalized to all cases
- Modern secular bioethics represents a regression to pagan values rather than moral progress
- The concept of inherent human dignity requires religious grounding
- Legislative solutions should be based on religious moral principles