A few years ago baby food company Gerber began an annual campaign to find real-life “Gerber babies.”
Gerber selects a different baby each year who will act as the company’s “spokesbaby.”
This year’s Gerber baby is a one-year-old boy named Lucas. Lucas is unique in that he is the first Gerber baby to have Downs Syndrome.
Writing at Breakpoint.org, John Stonestreet says,
In most Western countries, including Iceland, France, and even the U.S., the vast majority of precious children with Down syndrome are targeted for extinction through selective abortion. Even more, this is considered a good thing by many in the press, and even more in the academy. Princeton bioethicist Peter Singer has infamously argued that parents be allowed to kill children with disabilities like Down syndrome even after they’re born.
Gerber’s choice sends a crucial message, that children with disabilities are just as valuable as any other child, and they often bring love into their homes, communities, and churches that’s second-to-none. So may Lucas be an ambassador, not just for Gerber, but for the joy that comes from welcoming all lives.
Unfortunately, as Stonestreet notes, unborn babies with Downs Syndrome and other genetic anomalies are targeted all-too-often for abortion.
However, there is good news. Last month Arkansas Senator Trent Garner (R — El Dorado) tweeted that he is drafting a bill to prohibit abortion in cases of Down Syndrome. Sen. Garner said he hopes the final version of the bill will include additional protections for unborn children with other genetic defects as well.
As John Stonestreet points out, human life is sacred, and every child has intrinsic worth and dignity. You can read his entire commentary here.
