‘Public health’ in Iceland?

Progressives repeatedly tell us we should respect, or have tolerance for, “the other.” But what when “the other” is a baby with Down syndrome?

Well, that’s a completely different story. Down’s children, apparently, are different in a way progressives say should not be tolerated.

This is particularly true in Iceland, where a recent tweet from CBS News, urging viewers to tune in its “On Assignment” reports, declared the island nation “on pace to virtually eliminate Down syndrome through abortion.” To which conservative actress Patricia Heaten acerbically responded, “Iceland isn’t actually eliminating Down [s]yndrome. They’re just killing everybody that has it. Big difference.”

How is the government advancing toward such a ghastly goal? By having the nationalized health system convince expectant mothers to have an abortion when prenatal testing suggests a Down baby. The campaign is working.

This, in our mind, extends beyond wanton cruelty toward barbarism. Perhaps the Icelanders don’t know these facts compiled by Dr. Brian Skotko, who co-leads the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General: 99 percent of people with Down syndrome are happy, 97 percent like their identity, 99 percent of parents love their child with Down syndrome, and 97 percent of brothers and sisters, ages 9-11, say they love their Down sibling.