tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217750984500164269.post4298602216810656649..comments2024-03-02T03:16:49.548-05:00Comments on Every little thing: The Yiddish Policemen's UnionAlison Piepmeierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17972854288403934814noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217750984500164269.post-79040845995118087082013-03-06T12:56:18.109-05:002013-03-06T12:56:18.109-05:00I question whether the fetal anomaly implied in th...I question whether the fetal anomaly implied in the book is trisomy 21.<br />Chabon and his wife terminated after dx of a trisomy. Ayelet Waldman mentions in her interview w/ Terry Gross that a very rare anomaly was discovered and specifically states that her fetus did NOT have trisomy 21. She states that it was a trisomy, but NOT trisomy 21. The prognosis was unknown and ambiguous. Doctors could only tell her that her child's condition may range from almost unaffected to severe. From my google searches, I could not find any source in which Waldman specifies which extra chromosone her fetus actually had. We may assume that she wanted to keep that detail private. <br />The decision to carry to term or end a pregnancy is intensely personal and gut-wrenching, and based on an individual's unique family situation and own hammered-out, legitimately wrought moral beliefs. If one supports reproductive rights, one must resist the impulse to create a choice hierarchy in which "the only moral abortion is MY abortion" and where the latent expectation is: I carried to term for this reason and, if you're a good person--like me-- so should you.<br /><br /> I do think the topic should be discussed more often and more openly. The judgement and condemnation that<br /> are heaped upon both sides of the issue, though, hinder dialogue. People hesitate to talk about their experiences out of fear and the need to protect themselves in their rawest state. Isolation, as lonely as it is, becomes a sanctuary. That Waldman and Chabon are open about their decision and are each exploring the trauma and grief in their respective ways, is admirable and brave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217750984500164269.post-69226272727275994192013-03-06T09:47:40.296-05:002013-03-06T09:47:40.296-05:00I love your writing on the subject of choice and d...I love your writing on the subject of choice and disability. My state (Arkansas) recently banned abortion at 20 weeks gestation, and because I've received a fetal diagnosis at 20 weeks, and because pregnancy is (for unrelated reasons) now life threatening to me, I contacted NOW and Planned Parenthood and testified against the bill. The interesting part is, both the bill's sponsor, and me who opposed it, have children with spina bifida. Both of us are driven by our experience with our childrens' diagnoses. But we went in profoundly different directions. Clearly we both chose to continue our pregnancies, and now have beautiful girls with spina bifida. The difference is, while I think the fact that 67% of people who get a prenatal diagnosis of SB choose to terminate is sort of a sad fact, my window into what it's like to sit in that ultrasound room and get scary news has given me great compassion for the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario that comes with fetal diagnosis. The language of "we called it a choice" seems to fit so perfectly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8217750984500164269.post-9651120453032319612013-03-06T09:03:38.660-05:002013-03-06T09:03:38.660-05:00As your non-academic friend, I will mention the co...As your non-academic friend, I will mention the colloquial "screwed both ways". <br /><br />Because I am a child and it makes me giggle. krlrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14392064691347464660noreply@blogger.com