They say wisdom comes with experience. That may only be true for some people.
It’s certainly not for Professor David M. Perry at the University of Minnesota, who, despite having a son with Down syndrome, still believes that such children should be aborted in the womb.
Writing for the leftist publication The Nation, Professor Perry spoke of a woman’s “right” to a “eugenic abortion” while acknowledging the “intrinsic” value of his own son.
“If individuals want to terminate an otherwise wanted pregnancy due to a prenatal diagnosis, I support their decision,” Professor David M. Perry declared. “It’s time to affirmatively support the right to eugenic abortion, even as we fight the need for it.”
“The anti-choice movement is trying to use the public’s positive feelings about cute kids with Down syndrome, like my son, to undermine reproductive rights,” he lamented.
Yes, to utter “cognitive dissonance” would be cliche at this point, but if the shoe fits . . . His arguments sound novel, but they could have been lifted off the shelf of Margaret Sanger’s library. He even uses the tired line that pro-lifers care about children with Down syndrome only before they are born and care little for them after.
While flippantly throwing out the phrase “eugenic abortion,” the professor didn’t even speak about the horrifying statistics out of Europe showing that Down syndrome babies are being exterminated.
“Right now, Down syndrome and other genetic anomalies are being politicized as Republicans try to take away autonomy by playing on fears of eugenics,” Perry said.
“It’s time to defang that threat by affirming that a pregnant individual has the right to make whatever choice they wish to make, under any circumstances,” he wrote. “This affirmation serves, rather than works against, the broader campaign for disability rights.”
Pro-lifers have since noted that the pro-abortion crowd is officially endorsing eugenics by welcoming Perry’s argument.
“For anyone to promote eugenics is downright disgusting, but to have a professor and academic adviser promote eugenics is even worse,” said Kristan Hawkins, President of Students for Life of America. “Perry is just another example of an extremely pro-abortion professor who preaches an anti-life message and lacks any sort of coherent moral framework.”
“As a parent of two children with Cystic fibrosis and a taxpayer in Minnesota, it is extremely troubling that taxpayer dollars are being used to subsidize Perry’s writings,” Hawkins concluded.