Richard Dawkins opinion of abortion of children with Down Syndrome

Richard Dawkins, an atheist, a former professor at the University of Oxford, and some would say a very intelligent man made a very bold statement on August 25, 2014. He was talking about Down syndrome children still in the womb when he says, "Abort it and try again, it would be immoral to bring it into the world." This subject is getting attention and some people agree and some disagree as always. 1 in every 800 babies in the US is diagnosed with Down syndrome. In 2012 3.95 million babies were born in the US, out of that 3.95 million around 5,000 of them were diagnosed with Down syndrome. Although that may not seem like a large number they are still humans who deserve to live. Dawkins says later that it would be hard to raise a child with Down syndrome, and it would be. It would cost extra money, the child would need extra attention, and also there different behavior would be sometimes difficult to deal with. But aborting a child just because it has Down Syndrome is a very selfish and immoral decision. Nobody is perfect everyone has flaws. How far do we go when it comes to the kind of baby we want, if this becomes acceptable what’s next? If abortion of Down Syndrome babies become acceptable, what makes it wrong for children with other physical impairments to also be aborted? It’s a very slippery slope, down the road people may think it’s ok to kill a baby if it has blonde hair, they want a kid with brown hair so why shouldn’t they abort it and try again. I know some of you are thinking that would never happen, but if you ask people 100 years ago if it was even a debatable subject I’m sure they would say no. They would say it’s wrong and not even something to discuss. The bible says in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image” that includes people with Down Syndrome. In Gods eyes everyone is the same no matter what. But say you don't believe in God and what the bible says, then those last few sentences might be irrelevant to you. But think about this, if you've ever seen or known a person with Down Syndrome what are they like? Do they seem sad, depressed, or angry? My answer to that question would be no, all of the people that I have ran into with Down Syndrome seem to be the happiest, care free, and joyful people I know.  Killing a baby just because it has Down syndrome, I will say it again, is immoral and extremely selfish.

Micheal brown shooting

On August 9^th, 2014, 18 year old black male Michael Brown was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson. There has been many different views on what actually happen. According to the police brown was stopped for jaywalking and then assaulted Wilson while in his squad car, resulting in an injury to Wilsons face. According to police protocol an officer is allowed to fire his weapon at another individual when there is an immediate threat to his life or others. Brown, standing 6 foot 4 inches tall and weighing 300 pounds is not a small little kid, he is a large man and capable of doing some damage. So if you ask me that sounds like immediate threat especially when reports say that Brown also tried to grab for Wilsons gun. The police say after Wilson was assaulted he got out of the car and drew his gun. At that time brown said, "what are you going to do shoot me?", and then charged at Wilson. At that time Wilson, who has never been in an experience like this before according to previous records, shot several times, the fatal shot being a shot to the head. To some people this is just self-defense by a cop, but now let’s look at the other side of the story.

 Dorain Johnson who is Browns friend and was stopped also for jaywalking saw the whole incident unfold. He said after telling them to move out of the street Wilson threw the car into reverse and said, "what did you say." he then hoped out of the car and grabbed brown by the throat, they then struggled physically before Brown tried run off. Dorain Johnson then says Wilson drew his firearm and shot brown while he was running away, then brown got on his knees put his hands up, surrendering, and said don't shoot. According to Johnson, Wilson then fired several shots killing brown leaving him dead in the street. Johnson said, "He shot him down like a dog".

            Many controversies over whether the shooting was just or unjust have arisen resulting in riots and protests. Many of the protestors are angered and their cry is racism. In Ferguson 67% of the community is black to the 29% who are white. 80% of the people stopped by police were black and only 12% stopped by cops were white. By those people who were stopped 21% of the African Americans were prosecuted for drugs while 32% of white people were found with drugs. Ferguson police department has been accused of racial profiling before and now it’s gotten to a point where the community has had enough and now rioting. Why are people screaming stop the violence when they are being destructive, looting, and causing violence themselves. If you ask me this completely contradicts what they are protesting for.





            Reporters ask close friends to Wilson what they think about him and the situation. Many of his close friends and relatives describe him as quiet, well-mannered, respectful and not a cold blooded killer. One friend even says, they were shocked when they heard it was Wilson who shot Brown, they would never suspect him to shoot someone even as a cop. But what about Browns friend such as Dorain Johnson the main witness going against what the police statement. In 2011 Johnson was arrested for theft and making a false report. So he just saw his friend get shot and killed  in front of him by a cop you think he’s going to be felling love for the cop? I think not. This is just my opinion but Johnson’s statement is unreliable on two factors, first of all he is prejudice towards the cop and his emotions are taking over his realistic and factual thinking, and secondly he has past arrests showing he has lied on a police report. Would you trust a statement from a person in those circumstances? Another eye witness at the scene backs up the cop’s perspective saying that brown charged the cop. Since Dorain Johnsons statement is one of the only or at least the most influential to the protests, his statement is what everyone is going off of. Therefore if he has given a false statement, like he has done in the past, the reason for protesting and rioting is purposeless. So if his statement is untrue as I believe their argument is irrelevant.


            It is always unfortunate when a cop has to use his fire arm and in this case sad that it resulted in a fatality. In my opinion this was just, but also a loss for his friends, family, and the community.