Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a special interview today. It used to be only older women who were pregnant who were screened for Down syndrome, but since several years ago the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists changed their policy many, many more younger women are screening for a diagnosis of Down syndrome in their unborn child and as a result the statistics are frightening. Nine out of 10 women who are bearing a child diagnosed with Down syndrome now choose abortion, but I have a couple here with me today who did not choose that route—Thomas and Lisa—and they have a little boy named Seth who has Down syndrome and Seth is a twin. Marly is his sister and there is also Max and Sam. So Lisa tell me a little bit about what it was like when you realized you were having a child with Down syndrome.
Lisa: I found out the day that I gave birth to my twins that there was a surprise coming to me and we had to grieve what we thought we were getting and yet go on a different road in our hearts. We walked through this journey with my in-laws who are not believers and they really struggled with not having the “perfect” child and we all struggled together. I remember one moment when my father-in-law was holding little Seth and looking down at him and he said:
“You know what, I have spent my whole career diagnosing—prenatally—kids with Down syndrome and not thinking that they should be encouraged to have a life, but now I am wondering if I did the right thing.”
We really believe that God is softening his heart toward the Gospel through our little Seth.
Joni: I am glad you mentioned that because Thomas, you and Lisa are Messianic Jews. You claim Yeshua, Jesus Christ as your Savior. Your father, Thomas, is a prominent Jewish medical researcher. Tell me what it’s like when he gets together with little Seth.
Thomas: Oh, they have such a love affair. It is such a beautiful relationship and I remember after Seth was born and the impact that it had on my dad. One of the reasons I am so proud of him, God doing in his heart, is that he is a leader in the field of OBGYN – not just in research, but in the practitioner side of things as well. He did his residency at Yale around the time the ultrasound was invented which revolutionized the field of OBGYN and so my dad—because he did his residency at Yale, where it was invented—he brought that technology back and spent his career doing that kind of work. And to see him take his deep insensitivity to disability and the glory—I’d like to see disability as failed glory—to see that glory just shine into him and see him take the platform that he has created for himself professionally all these years, and be a mouthpiece for life and for grace and for truth. That all life is precious, even in the presence of what many in the world may look at as too hard or not worth the challenges or the struggles. I’m proud of the way he advocates for people even with disabilities.
Joni: Well, I think little Seth is going to be God’s way of soften your dad’s heart further, illuminating his thinking, unplugging his ears and opening his eyes to the truth that not only does God’s power show up best through a disability, but that Jesus Christ is his Messiah and Savior. We will be praying to that end, Thomas and Lisa.
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