Deconstructing Sarah, Ctd

A reader writes:

My son, Calvin, has Down syndrome. We did not find out until after his birth, but it would have been nice to know. My wife and I love our son more than anything in the world. When you receive the diagnosis, though, you go through a mourning. You mourn the loss of the future you thought you had. Knowing before-hand would have allowed us to go through the grieving process before his birth. We would have been able to just enjoy him. We look back now and wonder what we were even mourning. Our future, and his, is nothing but bright. I think you might be overstating things with the amnio. A recent study has shown the risk to be very low.

Also, I want to point out that my son was not a "Down syndrome baby," nor was Trig Palin. The are people who have Down syndrome, just like you are not an HIV man - you have HIV. You are not defined by HIV, it is something you have. Calvin and Trig are not defined by Down syndrome; it is a condition they have. Trust me, to people who are involved in the disability community, whenever you write "Down syndrome baby" it comes across as ignorant.

Thanks for the link to the 2006 study. As for terminology, it was shorthand and not intended to offend. But we won't use it again and are grateful for the input.