Celebrate World Down Syndrome Day today with Joni as she shares about a video that was banned in France! If you know someone with Down syndrome today, show them love.
Happy World Down Syndrome Day!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju-q4OnBtNU
SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope and today is World Down Syndrome Day! This is an extra special day for me, because my daughter Sarah has Down syndrome. And I love what Joni has to say about all our friends with Down syndrome. Listen in and be blessed.
JONI: The image of a smiling child should give us hope, it should stir us, it should be a reminder that we are all made in the image of God – even, and perhaps especially, the smile of a child with Down syndrome. But a couple of years ago, to mark World Down Syndrome Day, a touching video was produced featuring children with Down syndrome. It was titled “Dear Future Mom,” and the video showed children and teens with Down syndrome. Each of them had something brief and sweet to say about their disability. They looked into the camera, each one of them, and addressed the worries of any pregnant woman who might be fearful about carrying a child with Down syndrome. Actually, the video opens with a letter from an expectant mother who has discovered her baby has Down syndrome. She writes, “I’m scared. What kind of life will my child have?”
And over the next two minutes, children with Down syndrome address us in different languages, smiling, assuring the frightened mom-to-be that her kid will be able to read and write, maybe go to school, help dad fix a bike, run to her, hug her, maybe dance with her, tell her, “I love you.” Every word is true. Anyone who has rubbed shoulders with someone who has Down syndrome will tell you about the love, the openness, and the zest for life that they bring to every family. The laughter and the joy is so infectious. Even the pro-abortion Huffington Post reports that studies have shown that the vast majority of children with Down syndrome and their families live happy and fulfilled lives.
I saw the video of these children with Down syndrome and was so blessed. But sadly, this positive portrayal of young people with Down syndrome was just too much for the French authorities. The French government banned the video from being shown on television. Why would they do such a thing? Well, according to the Supreme Court in France, the justices felt that the video was inappropriate. In a statement, they said, “The video’s portrayal of people with Down syndrome as happy and smiling was ‘likely to disturb the conscience of women who had lawfully made different personal choices.’” Meaning, of course, they aborted their babies. How sad. No, rather, how awful. Because the banning of that video in France gives support to the idea that the mere public presence of people with Down syndrome, happy and smiling and excited to be alive, could be considered potentially offensive. That is taking political correctness to an extremely disturbing level.
So, may I encourage us all to celebrate? Celebrate the children we know with Down syndrome. Especially on this, World Down Syndrome Day? Expectant mothers should not be led to think that keeping a baby who has Down syndrome is an abnormal choice. I mean, what could be more normal than welcoming into our churches people who differ from us in some ways, but share our love for life and, most importantly, bear the unmistakable image of the God of love himself.
SHAUNA: And to inspire you, we’ve posted this video, you know, the one which the French government banned. Well, we’ve posted it today at joniradio.org. And since it’s World Down Syndrome Day, I encourage you to share it with your friends. We are all image bearers of God, people with Down syndrome and people without. So, watch the video today at joniradio.org and then share it with your friends in celebration of World Down Syndrome Day. My daughter, Sarah, and I would be most grateful. God bless you today friend, and thanks for listening to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope.
© Joni and Friends