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Down Syndrome Protection Act Re-Introduced

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Chloe Kondrich 2019

 By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

The Down Syndrome Protection Act has been reintroduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and referred to the House Health Committee. 

The popular bill passed the House last session by an overwhelming, bipartisan, veto-proof majority, but stalled in the state Senate.

The common sense legislation would ban abortions for the sole reason of a Down syndrome diagnosis. 

Research shows that the vast majority of children who receive a Down syndrome diagnosis in the womb lose their lives to abortion.

Many parents report being pressured by doctors to turn to abortion after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.

This comes at a time when people with Down syndrome are making tremendous strides in our communities and in the nation as a whole. They contribute greatly to our families, schools, and workplaces, and their lives should be protected.

The latest Down syndrome bill is sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai (R–Allegheny County) and state Rep. Kate Klunk (R-York County). The bill has also garnered dozens of co-sponsors from all across the political spectrum.

As Rep. Klunk stated in a news release announcing the bill, “We have a responsibility to protect those who don’t have a voice. We have a responsibility to stand up against eugenics. And, we have a responsibility to stand up to say that a baby with Down syndrome has a right to life and should not be discriminated against in the womb. Individuals with Down syndrome live lives full of dignity, value and love. We must embrace these lovable human beings for the amazing individuals they are and not allow policies that erase them from existence. They are truly lives worth living.”

Action Item: If you live in Pennsylvania, please call your state Representative and urge him or her to support the Down Syndrome Protection Act. 

Pennsylvania Teen Shows the Tremendous Gift of Children with Down Syndrome

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Chloe at police officer's grave

 

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director, Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

This is an incredible story of life, death, disability, and the power of an innocent child to bring people unity, hope and peace.

Chloe Kondrich, a teenager with Down syndrome, has won worldwide acclaim for her advocacy efforts on behalf of children with disabilities. Chloe’s father, Kurt, left his job in law enforcement to join Chloe in her advocacy efforts.

A decade ago, Kurt lost a close friend when a fellow Pittsburgh police officer, Paul Sciullo, was among a trio of officers killed in an ambush. The loss was devastating to the community and to Kurt personally.

When he took Chloe to her appointments at Children’s Hospital, he would stop at a nearby cemetery where Officer Sciullo was buried. There, Chloe formed a bond with the fallen officer, whose photograph adorns his tombstone.

During a visit with Sciullo’s parents, Chloe said, “I see Paul up in heaven and he’s holding a baby. It’s a baby boy. It’s his brother. His name’s David and (Paul’s) holding him in heaven.”

The parents started to cry. Unbeknownst to the Kondrich family, 43 years earlier, the Sciullos had miscarried a baby. He was a boy, and the Sciullos had discussed naming him David.

As Kurt remarks, “I don’t know what I did right to be given a daughter as awesome as this.” Chloe shined a very bright light in the darkest valley for the Sciullo family, and her father believes she proved that unborn children who die in the womb are in Heaven.

Yet, Kurt lives with the daily reality that children such as Chloe are truly endangered. That is because of the high abortion rate for unborn babies who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome. It is estimated that the vast majority of parents who receive a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis choose abortion.

Kurt believes many individuals simply do not know the abilities of children with Down syndrome. Nor do they realize the resources that are available to them. The absence of knowledge leads to unnecessary barriers to inclusion and causes discrimination against those with an extra chromosome.

To address this pressing issue, the Kondrich’s were instrumental in passing Chloe’s Law, a Pennsylvania statute which provides positive information and support to parents who have received a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis.

The Kondrich family is now advocating for legislation that would protect children with Down syndrome from abortion in Pennsylvania. The bill passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives by an overwhelming, bipartisan, veto-proof majority last year, but stalled in the Senate.

House Speaker Mike Turzai (R—Allegheny County) and Rep. Kate Klunk (R—York County) have announced plans to introduce a similar bill this year.

At a news conference at the state Capitol, Rep. Klunk spoke eloquently of the profound gift represented by children with Down syndrome.

And in a news release announcing plans to introduce the bill, Rep. Klunk stated, “We have a responsibility to protect those who don’t have a voice. We have a responsibility to stand up against eugenics. And, we have a responsibility to stand up to say that a baby with Down syndrome has a right to life and should not be discriminated against in the womb.

“Individuals with Down syndrome live lives full of dignity, value and love. We must embrace these loveable human beings for the amazing individuals they are and not allow policies that erase them from existence. They are truly lives worth living,” Rep. Klunk said.

Meanwhile, at a media event last year, Speaker Turzai said, “We’re raising the concern in Pennsylvania because of some tragic trends in European countries. In Iceland, they’ve become notorious for the claim that Down syndrome has been nearly eliminated. What they fail to mention is that Iceland has a 100 percent abortion rate of pre-born children with this diagnosis.

“I believe in the dignity of every human being. None of us are born perfect, and we all have something beautiful to contribute. Pennsylvania is a loving, compassionate community, and we want to extend welcome and support to Down syndrome families. They need to know they’re not alone,” Speaker Turzai added.

For the Kondrich family, the legislative effort is part of a personal crusade to show the world that every life matters—including the lives of the most vulnerable. The goal is to restore a culture of Life where people “Embrace don’t erase” Down syndrome and end this prenatal genocide which is the ultimate extreme form of prejudice, discrimination, profiling, bigotry, and hate on innocent human beings who commit no acts of evil or violence.

A short video of this amazing story was made in NYC when Chloe received a prestigious award from Good Counsel Homes for her advocacy efforts: https://youtu.be/dFGFvi7xLx0

The Final Countdown at the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

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Microphone

By Katy Schriner, intern

As I was growing up, I’ve always heard of the phrase “Life is a journey”. Particularly with my life, I can say that it has been a HUGE journey. I have been through some of the best things in life as well as some of the worst. Some of the worst experiences I’ve encountered were getting diagnosed with Autism at a young age, my family losing our home to black toxic mold, financial issues and my mother going through cancer. However, I can say now that the best outweighs the worst. All of these horrific situations I encountered have shaped me into becoming the woman that I am today. There have been doctors that told my parents that I would never graduate from high school, have a job, and that I would end up living in a home.

Through the strength of God and the dedication my mother had to prove the doctors wrong, she has been the reason for all of my success. Really quickly, let me give you a brief list of SOME of the things I have accomplished. Some of the biggest accomplishments that I have done throughout my life thus far as a 22-year-old are graduated high school, gotten my driver’s license, gotten accepted into college (the best university ever! Penn State), passing all of my college courses with flying colors, joined a few clubs, danced at Penn State THON for raising money for the Four Diamonds Fund for children with pediatric cancer, have learned to pick and choose my friends and finally to learn to love myself and to understand my strengths and weaknesses. In just a couple of weeks, I will be able to add two more things to my long list of accomplishments: completing my internship at the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and to graduate from college.

During my time with the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, I have learned SO much about abortions, all the laws being enacted in Congress or trying to be get passed, the effects from an abortion, all the resources women can go to, and all of the events that the Pro-Life movement provides to the community. I had met so many incredible people throughout my time at the Federation such as Joe Murphy, Senator Judy Ward, Ruth Santino, State Representative Andrew Lewis, and several others. This internship has also gotten me a chance to really see our world for what it actually is (which is dark and sickening). This is the first time, other than THON, I’ve felt like I am making an impact on the world. I am proud to say that I am pro-life and I am well educated on the topic now thanks to everyone at the Federation.

I have learned so much from Michael Ciccocioppo, Bonnie Finnerty, and most importantly Maria Gallagher. These three individuals have taught me all I need to know about the pro-life movement and I couldn’t thank them enough for bringing me in like family and giving me the opportunity to do some work in my field. I have also learned that I excel at verbal communications and besides having a huge passion for radio, I also have found an old/new passion for writing. With all the techniques and skills that I have learned from the classroom to my internship, I can say that I have grown stronger as a communications major and I will feel prepared to get an entry level job to show whatever place I decide to work what I am capable of doing. Don’t worry viewers, I still have a couple more weeks until I am done here but as for now, I can promise that I will keep writing my heart out and will write the truth and give someone a different perspective to view.

Thank you to everyone– my family, friends, school teachers, college professors, and employers who believed in me! Without everyone who has pushed me to do my best or motivated me to prove someone wrong, I wouldn’t be who I am right now at this very moment. I really need to start giving myself credit for all the hard work I do but of course I don’t like to take all the glory for my accomplishments. Last but not least, I would like to thank all the dedicated and passionate people for all their hard work in efforts to end legal abortions in America. I believe that abortion will end one day but as for now, keep fighting and showing everyone in the world that every life matters. And remember, there’s always a reason to choose life.

Unplanned: The Story of Abby Johnson

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Image result for unplanned movie

By Katy Schriner, intern

This Friday, March 29th, Unplanned will be released in theaters all across the United States. This is the story about a former Planned Parenthood worker, Abby Johnson, who was in fact the youngest Planned Parenthood center director in the nation. She also was a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, where she fought, she thought, to help women and enact legislation. What made her decide to embrace the Pro-life movement was when she found out about what Planned Parenthood really did when it came to unborn children and the counseling they provided for women, which led to 22,000 abortions that Abby was involved with. She was also a witness to an abortion where she saw the unborn child fighting for his life. Ever since that incident, she quit Planned Parenthood and joined the 40 Days for Life Campaign and now is one of the most passionate pro-life speakers in America.

Like any other topic that is about Pro-life or abortions, there were some issues that came along with the movie. Weeks before the movie was to be released, Hollywood decided that the film should be rated R for the reason of “some disturbing, bloody images”. But the co-director Chuck Konzelman feels otherwise, that Hollywood restricted the film because of politics. This has prevented teenagers in the world from seeing the truth about Planned Parenthood and the full effects of abortion and what happens to the mother. Konzelman fears that the movie’s R-rating will scare families away, at exactly the wrong time. However, there was an open letter from different leaders, actors and Academy Award-winners asking parents to not be discouraged from allowing their teenagers to see this movie.

We as Americans have this “shield” from seeing the truth and wanting to “keep secrets” away from society. Well enough is enough and that is what Unplanned is trying to do: uncover the real truth behind Planned Parenthood and show the world about what we are doing to innocent lives and how we are affecting our society today, tomorrow, and our future by having abortion in existence. This is a way to keep the conversation going showing kids, teenagers, college students and adults what lies behind the curtains and revealing the truth about our one true enemy: disrespect for human life.

Why the Rise in Taxpayer Funding of Abortions in PA?

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Image result for guy reschenthaler

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

A Pennsylvania Congressman wants to know why the Keystone State has seen a dramatic increase in taxpayer-funded abortions.

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA 14th district) sent a letter this week to pro-abortion Governor Tom Wolf demanding answers to a series of pointed questions about Medicaid-funded abortions in the Commonwealth.

The reasons for Reschenthaler’s concerns are as clear as the abortion industry’s penchant for increasing abortions. While other states (excluding Nevada) recorded a decline in the number of abortions eligible for federal funding, Pennsylvania’s taxpayer-funded abortion rate rose astronomically during a recent four-year period.

In fiscal year 2013, Pennsylvania recorded 317 Medicaid-funded abortions, according to a recent study published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). By fiscal year 2017, that number had skyrocketed to 982.

Federal funding of abortions in Pennsylvania is limited to the rare cases involving rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. “Given the narrow scope in which taxpayer funds are permitted to cover abortions, I am alarmed by the significant increase and overall numbers of Medicaid-funded abortions in Pennsylvania compared to other states,” Reschenthaler told Wolf.

The GAO report stated, “when excluding Nevada and Pennsylvania, states reporting information showed an aggregate decrease in the number of abortions eligible for federal Medicaid funding they covered during the fiscal year 2013 through fiscal year 2017. When data from these states were included, there was an aggregate increase, as the number of abortions covered by Nevada and Pennsylvania was much higher in later years.”

The Congressman has asked the Governor to provide answers to the following questions:

  • What are the requirements in Pennsylvania for Medicaid funding of abortion?
  • What was the annual denial rate in Pennsylvania for Medicaid funding of abortion claims from FY 13 to FY 17?
  • Does Pennsylvania have protocols to prevent misuse of federal Medicaid spending for abortion?
  • What were the reported number of abortions eligible for federal funding covered in FY 18 in Pennsylvania?

Given the fact that poll after poll shows that citizens do not want tax money to pay for abortions, Pennsylvania’s taxpayers deserve answers. Now.

 

 

Down Syndrome Bill Proves Every Life is Precious

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Mikayla Holmgren

 

 

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

Pageant contestant Mikayla Holmgren is a true trailblazer. In 2017, the young woman became the first person with Down syndrome to ever compete in a Miss USA state competition.

Meanwhile, Chloe Kondrich is a teenager who has accomplished more in her young life than some people with 70 years on the planet. She has been an author and an outspoken advocate for the rights of people with disabilities. Like Mikayla, Chloe has Down syndrome. But that has not stopped her from meeting with statesmen, sportsmen, and other celebrities.

Mikayla and Chloe are scheduled to be on hand for a news conference on Wednesday, March 20th announcing the reintroduction of the Down Syndrome Protection Act in Pennsylvania. The measure is designed to protect babies with Down syndrome from the wanton destruction of abortion.

The legislation is sponsored by House Speaker Mike Turzai (R–Allegheny County) and state Representative Kate Klunk (R–York County). It is similar to a bill which passed the PA House of Representatives by an overwhelming, bipartisan, veto-proof majority last year. Sadly, the previous bill failed to achieve a Senate vote.

But hopes are high that this year’s version will be approved by both the House and the Senate. With advocates like Mikayla and Chloe, it is easy to see why the bill is considered a winner.

In a story for NBC’s “Today” show, Mikayla said of her pageant experience, “I was not nervous…I want others to believe in themselves.”

Although Mikayla did not become Miss Minnesota, she did garner two awards–the Spirit award and the Director’s award.

The fact is, people with Down syndrome are winners. Their example sparks joy in their schools, their workplaces, and their communities.

It is high time that children with Down syndrome are cherished for the magnificent human beings they are. The Down Syndrome Protection Act is an important legislative step in that direction.

Reversal for Life: How One Pill Saved a Life

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Mother and child long shot

By Katy Schriner, intern

Here’s a scenario that I would like to test out: You are 19 years old, a part-time student and employee living at your parents’ house where you share a room with your sister. Now that you have this in mind, picture this: you are pregnant, which was completely unplanned. With this scenario in mind, you may be thinking of a thousand different things like going through the pregnancy, how to tell your family and friends that you’re pregnant, and ways of figuring out what to do with the baby and what is the best opinion to go with. This is the story of 19-year-old Emily, who had an unplanned pregnancy who took the Abortion Pill and then less than 12 hours after taking it took the Abortion Reversal Pill.

The story about Emily is a beautiful story and a realistic story of someone who thought one way was the best decision but then realized that it wasn’t and she was able to reverse her actions. As I mentioned above, she was only 19 years old when she found out that she was pregnant. At the time she was sharing a room with her sister and was terrified & worried about her future. The next day she went to a Planned Parenthood, where a nurse brought her into a room, had Emily sign waiver papers releasing the responsibilities from Planned Parenthood if anything were to go wrong and then the nurse handed her the 1st pill. At the time, Emily didn’t realize that the pill would cut off the baby’s food supply and cause him to stop growing. But at the time, her fear of being pregnant overcame all the other emotions which caused her to take the pill.

On the ride back home, she cried the whole way, consumed herself with guilt and regret. Once she got home, she told her sister what she did and told her she wanted to reverse the actions that she committed at Planned Parenthood. Emily and her sister started looking online and came across a website discussing a reversal pill. Then Emily had called the number to a hotline nurse, Elizabeth Delgado, who became the life saver in Emily’s life. Elizabeth had directed Emily to go to Patsy and Willie from the San Juan Diego Center and set up her appointment with them the next day. When Emily arrived at the center, Patsy had assured Emily that they were going to save her baby. During the appointment, Emily had learned about the common misconception about babies and the abortion industry: they love to promote that young babies in utero are only cells and aren’t real people (which is COMPLETELY FALSE). After the appointment with Patsy, Emily came home that day and told her parents everything including the reversal process. Her mom was very supportive of Emily all the way and even came to meet Patsy and Willie the next day to thank them!

In July, Emily gave birth to a healthy, beautiful and perfect 9 ½ pound baby named  Ezekiel (which means God strengthens). Without stories like Emily’s, women and the whole world would have no idea about the existence of the abortion reversal pill. Even though Emily was young and scared about the obstacles that she had in her way, she knew through her faith and consciousness that at the end of the day she was making the right decision by becoming a mother and being a role model to those who are or were in her shoes.

The real truth behind the Abortion Pill

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Woman--sad

By Katy Schriner, intern

Think about this: everyday we put whatever kinds of foods, drinks and prescriptions into our bodies without thinking of the consequences. But when it comes to the abortion pill, do you actually know the real effects? What if I told you that if you took the abortion pill that there was a way that you can reverse it? Well the Abortion Reversal Pill is an effective process that reverses the effects of the Abortion Pill and allows you to continue your pregnancy. Studies show that the Reversal Pill has a 64-68% success rate. In contrast to the Reversal Pill, our bad guy “the Abortion Pill”, also known as Mifepristone, is the pill that can be prescribed by a doctor within the first 7 to 10 weeks of pregnancy that blocks the effects of progesterone–a hormone your body needs to grow a healthy baby. It blocks the essential nutrients which leads to the death of the developing baby.

What a lot of women may not know about taking the pill is the effects and what the pill does to your body and the babies. There are two pills involved in this. For the first pill, a doctor will give a woman considering chemical abortion a physical exam to determine if she is eligible for this type of chemical abortion procedure. If she is eligible, she may be given an oral pill on her first visit. But there are some conditions on how a woman is NOT eligible for this procedure that can include these health problems:

  • ectopic pregnancy
  • ovarian mass
  • Corticosteroid use
  • adrenal failure
  • anemia
  • bleeding disorders or use of blood thinners
  • asthma
  • Liver or Kidney problems
  • Heart disease
  • High Blood Pressure

For the second abortion pill, the woman has an option of taking tablets orally or inserted vaginally about 36-72 hours after taking the first pill. The tablets cause contractions and expel the remains of the baby. The process may take from as long as a few hours to a few days. After that, the woman will need to be examined by her doctor two weeks later to ensure the abortion was complete and to check for complications. Five to 10% of the time the woman must have an additional surgical abortion procedure to complete the process.

Along with that, the side effects that come along with the abortion pill can range from small complications to life threatening. There are two types of side effects that come with Mifepristone: Common side effects and Infrequent Side Effects. First let’s check out the common side effects that a woman can get from taking Mifepristone.

Common Side Effects (Severe):

-Uterine Cramps

-Bleeding Not Related to Menstrual Period

-Backache

-Stomach Cramps

-Low Amount of Potassium in the Blood

Common Side Effects (Less Severe):

-High Blood Pressure

-Overgrowth of the Uterine Lining

-Joint Pain

-Dizziness

-Low Energy

-Fluid Retention in the legs, feet, arms or hands

-Loss of Appetite

-Head Pain

-Nausea

-Throwing Up

-Diarrhea

Now that you have an idea of the common side effects of Mifepristone, whether they are severe or not as severe, here are the infrequent side effects of the abortion pill.

Infrequent Side Effects (Severe):

-Infections

-Chills

Infrequent Side Effects (Less Severe):

-Indigestion

-Inflammation or Infection of Vagina

-Chronic Trouble Sleeping

-Fever

Now how can someone commit this kind of act when she has NO IDEA what kind of effects come with taking it? It can even prevent you from having any future kids or even can cause serious injuries or even deaths. What we can do in this movement is to keep telling these kinds of truths EVERYWHERE and hoping one day that we don’t have to live in a world full of cruelty and unkind hearts.

Live Action: All the Way Pro-Life

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Lila Rose

By Katy Schriner, intern for the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation

In 2003, at the age of 15, Lila Rose decided that she wanted to create a presentation that showed the reality of abortion and to expose what abortion does to the preborn child. In 2006, at 18 years old, she started doing undercover investigations of the abortion industry. By 2008, Live Action was born, legally formed as a non-partisan, non-profit organization that has the largest and most engaged online following in the pro-life movement. Today, Live Action’s goal is to shift public opinion on the killing of preborn children and defend the rights of these most vulnerable among us by using compelling educational media, human interest storytelling, and investigative reporting to reveal the humanity of the preborn and expose the abortion industry exploiting women for profit.

Live Action gives strong viewpoints on the problems the pro-life movement has with abortion. There’s so many to choose from but I believe the most important ones to look at are Human Rights and whether abortions are “safe”. According to Live Action, they state that “all human beings have human rights, and we possess them by virtue of our humanity and not because they are granted to us by the government or other people. The most foundational human right is the right to life.” Another thing to add is the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states in article 3: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person”. And article 6: “Everyone has the right of recognition everywhere as a person before the law”. The most important part of that section is the statement that says “If we hold to the validity of these statements, and if preborn children are human beings, then we would have to conclude that the youngest among us have the same inalienable right to life as those who are born. This really opens my eyes as it states in our human rights that EVERYONE has a right to life and that every voice matters, preborn or born.

Most people don’t educate themselves when it comes to abortion. Are abortions actually “safe?” There are 4 statements that answer the question on abortions being safe.

  1. Abortion is NEVER safe for preborn humans- it dismembers, suctions, or poisons them to death.
  2. Even if an argument could be made that legal abortion is safer for the women, if abortion ends an innocent human being’s life, then it isn’t ethical to legalize killing in order to make it supposedly safer for those participating in it.
  3. Abortions, whether legal or illegal, carry the risk of negative effects to women’s health. In other words, some women were hurt or killed in illegal abortions and some women are hurt and killed by legal abortions, too.
  4. The number of women who died from illegal abortions prior to Roe vs. Wade (1973) was greatly inflated by those lobbying for the legalization of abortion.

There was one statement that stood out to me the most when I was viewing Live Action’s website, which states, “Since the preborn are humans and since humans have human rights, it follows that “we ought to respect the preborn and protect them from abortion.”. Live Action has a lot of information on the reality of abortion, in terms of effects, laws, industries, etc. It’s important that we spread the truth about abortion, tell others about the pro-life movement and end legalization of abortion in America.

 

Down Syndrome Protection Act Being Re-Introduced

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ChloeKondrich

By Maria V. Gallagher, Legislative Director

The popular Down Syndrome Protection Act is being reintroduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

The bill bans abortion for the sole reason of a Down syndrome diagnosis. The legislation is a response to the high abortion rate among women whose unborn babies have been diagnosed with an extra chromosome.

During the last session, the House passed the legislation by an overwhelming, veto-proof, bipartisan majority of 139-56. However, the Down Syndrome Protection Act stalled in the PA Senate last year.

As the co-sponsorship memo states, “Most of us know of a family touched by a Down syndrome child, and know these children grow to lead joyful and fulfilling lives.”

The lead sponsors on the bill are House Speaker Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny County) and state Representative Kate Klunk (R-York County).

Karen Gaffney is the first living person with Down syndrome to receive an honorary doctorate from a college or university. At a rally at the state Capitol last year, Gaffney eloquently stated, “Those of us with Down Syndrome and our families face a very difficult future. We face a possibility of wiping out all of the tremendous progress we have made. Just as we are making so much progress, a whole industry has grown up focused on prenatal screening – screening that would end our lives before we take our first breath.

“Now that you can test for Down Syndrome before birth, there are many experts in the medical community that say this extra chromosome we carry around is not compatible with life. Not compatible with life? After everything we have done, I would say we are more than compatible. We are what life is all about. Our lives are worth living and our lives are worth learning about.”

Pennsylvania currently bans abortion after 24 weeks except to save the life of the mother, and at any time during the pregnancy if the woman’s only reason for abortion is to select the sex of the baby.

The Keystone State is already home to Chloe’s Law, which provides information and resources for parents who receive a prenatal Down syndrome diagnosis. The law is named for Chloe Kondrich, a teenager who has become something of an international ambassador for children with Down syndrome.

Chloe’s Law “made progress educating parents regarding the quality of life that a person with Down syndrome can enjoy,” the co-sponsorship memo states. It goes on to say, “…the abortion rate for children with Down syndrome is still too high. It is time to protect Down syndrome children in the womb.”

Action Item: Pennsylvanians are urged to call their state representatives and encourage them to co-sponsor the Down Syndrome Protection Act.