Down Syndrome Information Exchange: Compassion Deficit Syndrome

Compassion Deficit Syndrome

As Carol pointed out, some in the media seem to have an unusual way of commemorating Down Syndrome Awareness Month. A few years ago, I wrote the following essay in response to yet another article about that year's version of a "new and improved" prenatal test for Down syndrome:

Compassion Deficit Syndrome

CDS Identified as Factor in Death of Millions
By Kathy Ratkiewicz

People who suffer from the disorder known as "compassion deficit syndrome"(CDS), which affects a great many individuals in our society, and has been a decisive factor in the death of millions, tend to have jaded world-views.

Instead of seeing children with Down syndrome as beautiful little people with almond-shaped eyes and winning smiles, they see "things" who "suffer from mental retardation" and are "deformed." Instead of seeing children, they see "choices"; instead of recognizing the humanity of people with disabilities, they tend to see them as "burdens" to be thrown off at all costs.

Unlike other syndromes, those who suffer from CDS are not born with the syndrome fully intact; it develops gradually. There are no generalized physical characteristics, but they do share common mental characteristics: over time their brains apparently malfunction to the extent that they believe that the best way to deal with people with other types of "handicaps" is to kill them. A striking characteristic of the syndrome is that those afflicted by it do not recognize the fact that they are, in fact, more disabled than the people they deem unworthy of life.

The real danger in the syndrome, however, lies in the fact that the brain malfunction serves to trick the CDS sufferer into believing that what he advocates is a desirable course of action; in some cases, the malfunction has progressed to such an extent that the CDS sufferer even believes that what he is advocating is an acceptable, moral, and even desirable solution to the problem of "unwanted" children or individuals.

They do have their creative sides, however. In order to accomplish their goal of ridding the world of ‘unwanted' individuals, those afflicted with CDS tend to use words fraught with mystery, words like "fetus" and "termination" when referring to "unborn babies" and "abortion." "Quality of life" also gets a lot of use, and CDS sufferers are extremely gifted in bringing it into discussions, no matter how great a stretch is needed to make it "fit."

They spin great swelling stories about children with disabilities: for example, they tend to lean heavily toward using the words "suffer," "retarded" and "deformity" whenever possible to try to help convince expectant parents that the "loving option" is to "terminate the pregnancy" of a "down syndrome fetus." They also excel in the medical arts, devising tests-not for the purpose of healing individuals, as would be the natural inclination of those not afflicted with CDS-but for the express purpose of eliminating those whom they have decided are not worthy of life.

Another almost universal feature of those afflicted with CDS is that they see themselves as compassionate, sensible and practical in their approach to unborn babies with disabilities. They speak of their "concern" for the child and parents, should the child be born "disabled." They speak of "options" and may say, "We only want what is best for you and your baby." They see themselves as compassionate when they are glad that new methods of detecting "deformities" in-utero are found-not so that they can cure the baby-but for the single purpose of giving mothers the "choice" of getting a "safe" abortion.

In reality, their hearts have become so hardened that they are incapable of understanding the joy that can be found in parenting a child with disabilities, as they focus on -and exaggerate- the negative aspects. A further, almost diagnostic characteristic of CDS, is the apparent inability of those afflicted with it to understand the concepts of nurturing, selfless love, and basic respect for life. They do not understand that you can accept and love a child, simply because he IS.

At present, since there is no known physical cure for those afflicted with CDS, the best approach is prevention. There is evidence to suggest that teaching children moral absolutes such as "Thou shalt not kill," and "Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you," are some of the best means at hand to stop the spread of this deadly syndrome. That-and lots of prayer.

2 comments:

Stephanie said...: Thank you for reading A is for Aiden. I first read your article on CafeMom.; October 7, 2008 at 9:13 PM
Heather said...: i love this! thanks, Kathy. <3; October 8, 2008 at 9:00 AM