Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

CBS reported that Iceland has eliminated Downs Syndrome. This should be received as good news, but in order to understand how they've eliminated it, one must hear as Paul Harvey says "the rest of the story." Downs is a genetic abnormality that leads to physical defects and mental deficiency. In the case of Iceland, there hasn't been a medical breakthrough to treat Downs, but rather Iceland is eliminating the defect because its mothers are simply aborting children with Downs. Which leads us to ask this question: "Do parents have the right to abort their less than perfect children? It's a question that hits home.  We live in a less than perfect world. But if we eliminate  imperfections by eliminating another human being, then this isn't progress, it's dangerous and unacceptable in any civilized society.