Keith Barrington, a Montreal neonatologist, comments on a study conducted on parents of children diagnosted with Trisomy 13 & 18. These children were not terminated, but allowed to be born:
What is most distressing is how negative the families’ interactions with
health care providers were. Although 2/3 of the families did meet at
least one provider who was helpful; most had received misinformation,
and many of those who chose to have active care felt that they were
judged negatively by providers for daring to make that
decision. Providers also often referred to their baby in de-humanising
terms, calling their baby ‘it’ or ‘a T18′. They recount interactions
with providers who never learnt their baby’s name, instead referring to
the child by their diagnosis.
