Are You Planning on Supporting the March of Dimes this Spring? Think Twice- Their History of Eugenics May Surprise You

Are You Planning on Supporting the March of Dimes this Spring? Think Twice- Their History of Eugenics May Surprise You

It's the beginning of March- spring is almost here, and some of us welcome the image of snow melting away and flowers in bloom once again.

Something else happens in March, which most people are probably aware of, but don't pay mind to. The March of Dimes steps up its fundraising campaigns, utilizing the warm weather (great for walking), the fact that people are financially recovering from their Holiday shopping, and the name of the month for inspiration.

Those of us who advocate for the non-typical child may see friends posting information about their personal walks. My family participated the first year after losing our daughter, Beatrix and raised a small bit of money. However, upon taking a more detailed look into the March of Dimes  we decided that it wasn't for us. 

Why?

Who could speak out against an organization which has the sole purpose of saving the lives of babies?

Over the years the March For Babies has come to symbolize all that's good about public contribution to modern medicine: it's most likely the closest many people come to actively working towards ending birth defects. It gets people together to work for the most worthy cause of all: saving lives.

Unfortunately the March of Dimes has a decidedly eugenic, pro-abortion history. 

Originally founded by FDR to combat polio, the March of Dimes moved on to "birth defect prevention" after successfully curing polio in the US, via funding research for Jonas Salk's polio vaccine. 

During the early 60's, when they switched gears and began working to prevent birth defects, prenatal testing became their main focus. The purpose of this testing was to figure out how to detect anomalies in order to terminate pregnancies where they were found.  The researchers employed, educated, and/or supported by the MOD pioneered the use of amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling to prenatally detect disorders such as Downs Syndrome. The MOD claim this testing is necessary to "prepare" parents for a child with special needs, yet over the decades it's become apparent that the tests are used for search and destroy missions against genetically atypical children. For example, in the US we know that 90% of children with Trisomy 21 (DS) are aborted after a positive genetic test. For more serious Trisomy disorders, the percentages of abortion are even higher. In addition, for those babies who are allowed to progress full-term, the prenatal testing which identified their syndrome can be used to deny life-saving medical care. Their "quality of life" becomes an issue, as does the concept of "futile" care, leaving many parents without the legal ability to advocate for their children's lives (1) (2). Genetic testing has become the means by which a human being can legally be denied medical care, and that genetic testing was developed through the MOD.

While the March of Dimes claims this to be an unfortunate byproduct of their research, and to be a neutral party to the abortion debate, they have a history of supporting the studies of eugenic physicians, utilizing aborted fetal tissue in fetal experimentation, (1), and relying on exceptionally gruesome fetal experimentation- including experimentation on living fetuses- which far surpasses anything we've heard on videos from current times. While we can't draw a direct line from their research into prenatal diagnosis to abortion, the connection is abundantly clear for any who choose to search for it -- although, you must search through archived internet articles because they've "scrubbed" many of the documents supporting abortion which they previously authored and offered.  (please see note below regarding links).

The March of Dimes, far from being a premier supporter of the rights of babies with disabilities, currently uses their clout to secure funding and donations which are used to develop even more specific testing. While claiming to have "conquered" a number of genetic disorders, the record shows that many of their "successes" comes from ever-earlier prenatal testing and abortion, rather than finding cures for genetic disorders which affect children.

We urge pro-life individuals to refrain from donating to this organization. 

For those who wish to contribute to research into prenatal diagnosis and complimentary treatment for children with disabilities, there is an alternative organization you can donate to: the Lejuene Foundation (named after Jerome Lejeune, the physician who discovered the cause of Down Syndrome). The Lejeune Foundation is a life-affirming research group which studies genetic disorders with the aim of helping individuals live better, fuller lives within the context of their disabilities. Jerome Lejeune was horrified when his discovery of a third chromosome 21, as the cause of Down Syndrome, was used to target affected unborn children for the purpose of ending their lives. He spent the later part of his life fighting for the rights of all children to live to the best of their ability. 

If you would like to give to this organization (or any other pro-life organization which helps individuals and families meet the challenges of an atypical life), we have included a few links below. All of these organizations are decidedly pro-life, and will satisfy both the desire to help families, and the desire to encourage them to keep their babies. 

http://www.benotafraid.net/

From their website:

"Be Not Afraid (BNA) is a private non-profit corporation whose mission is to provide comprehensive, practical, and peer-based support to parents experiencing a prenatal diagnosis and carrying to term. In addition, BNA encourages development of new services so more parents find support at diagnosis by offering training, consulting and technical assistance as well as materials to other organizations and individuals committed to service development."

http://www.prenatalpartnersforlife.org/

From their website:

"Support information & encouragement for carrying to term with an adverse prenatal diagnosis and support for raising your child with special needs after birth."

http://lejeuneusa.org

From their website:

"The mission of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation USA is to raise and disburse funds in order to provide research, care, and advocacy to benefit those with genetic intellectual disabilities in accordance with the medical and ethical standards of Dr. Jerome Lejeune, the father of modern genetics. This is carried out by conducting, promoting, and funding therapeutically oriented research; by assisting in the development of healthcare services for these individuals; and by serving as their advocate in a spirit of respect for the dignity of all human persons."

(Note: Much of the information available is only accessible via print, so sources linked above may not be varied enough to satisfy some readers- please feel free to research individual claims on your own, and if you find discrepancies or current links, please comment below so we can correct the information. Unfortunately the Pro-Life clearinghouse for MOD info, The Michael Fund, is no longer in service, and adding each individual link rather than articles referencing them would mean an excessive number of outbound links.)

BIO:  Sarah St. Onge is a wife, mother of 4, step-mother of 2, and pro-life blogger for Save The 1.  She blogs on faith, grief, loss, and pro-life issues pertaining to continuing a pregnancy after a lethal anomaly has been diagnosed, at www.shebringsjoy.com.