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.
The support, information and encouragement provided by the PPFL parents is not meant to take the place of medical advice by a medical professional. Any specific questions about care should be directed to a health care professional familiar with the situation.
