Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 7618 Plough Quarterly • Winter 2015 satisfied with life and as happy as people with Down syndrome. The second thing I would tell him is that there is a price to pay for ignorance. Our last century has been brutal, and the cause is largely ignorance. Dawkins needs to educate himself and gain some firsthand experience with people with Down syndrome. I followed this story as it unfolded, and I applaud the person who responded to Dawkins by invit- ing him to dinner to meet his two children with Down syndrome. Richard Dawkins should revisit this question after he’s taken the time to meet a few of the people he’s talking about. A remark you made when PBS profiled you last year struck me: “Suffering is real, but sharing suffering is a gift.” Could you elaborate? Suffering is very real. We’re afraid of it. We run from it. But it’s there, and when we learn to share it with others we draw close to them. Through that, we learn about love. I can’t manufacture love; love is a gift. It comes to you and through you from God. It’s like the stained-glass windows in a chapel. When you go in there at night in the dark they don’t show anything; but when the light comes through them you see the glory of the colors and the beauty of the images, and it stirs you and brings you hope and joy. It brings you closer to God. That’s what sharing love is all about. You know, I truly believe that if God is gra- cious enough to let me get to heaven I will recognize Jesus because his will be the only disabled body up there. The scripture says that when we arise we will be given new heavenly bodies. But scripture also clearly says that Jesus ascended to heaven with the body that hung on the cross, with the nail holes in his hands and feet and the spear hole in his side. He carried Sadly, we are seeing today a declining will to save these people, to give them our best. What should be our response as people of faith? Our response is to proclaim that life is the great- est gift we can possibly be given. Nobody can will their heart to beat even once. Every heart- beat is a gift from God and it means he’s not done with you yet. The idea that we are going to put less value on another person’s heartbeat because they are disabled or because they carry an incur- able disease is anathema to us. Remember, when Jesus rose from the dead he restored life in God-made man! In the face of that gift, how can we denigrate the life of any other human being? A few months ago on Twitter a user posted this comment: “I honestly don’t know what I would do if I were pregnant with a kid with Down syndrome. Real ethical dilemma.” Within moments the prominent British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins responded, “Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.” This prompted a firestorm of debate that was picked up by news outlets around the world. If you had the opportunity to speak directly to Mr. Dawkins, what would you say? Well, the first thing I would ask him is how many evolutionary biologists are happy with what they are doing in the world right now. You see, studies have shown that over 95 percent of people with Down syndrome are happy with their lives. They are satisfied. They’re enjoying life. They appreciate the people in their lives. They feel loved. I’d like to know the numbers for evolutionary biologists. I’d like to know the numbers for orthopedic surgeons. Find me a group of people in this country who are as Find me a group of people who are as happy and satisfied with life as people with Down syndrome.