Letter from a Special Mother to the New Jersey Legislature on the Physician Assisted Suicide Bill

Thirteen years ago as the Twin Towers crumbled to the ground, I wept, but I did not despair. 

I had hope, for the future in those difficult times for I was carrying my third daughter.

 Christina was born in March of 2002 and we were thrilled. The fact that she was born with an extra 21st chromosome was not nearly as discouraging as losing thousands of Americans on 9/11. Life was a sign of hope, no matter how the person differs from our definition of 'normal.'

The second saddest day in my life was the day I discovered that not everyone welcomed my daughter into life. Two nurses in the hospital expressed regret that she was born and one offered me phone numbers to have her face "fixed" by a plastic surgeon. I was heartbroken by such cruelty from those whose lives are dedicated to alleviating suffering and saving lives. They made a value judgement that Christina's life was not worth living, and they assumed that I would agree. They never considered her a person with human rights. My daughter is full of life and optimism, she never met a person she didn't like, and everyone in the town we live in knows her name. She is the heart of our home and a gift to our community. 

My greatest fear is that one day, when I am no longer around to keep a close eye on the medical staff who treat my daughter, is that one of them will decide that preserving her life is too costly, that she has nothing to contribute to society, she is suffering too much, and would be better off dead. 

I have interviewed many mothers of children and adults with special needs and learned that this is far more often the case than the media will admit. Our children are often considered a burden to society and many healthcare professionals feel obligated to allow or help them to die.  That is why my friend and I founded KIDS(Keep Infants with Down Syndrome) to raise awareness of the beauty of life with extra chromosomes. 

We who love individuals with disabilities know how valuable they are to our families, you can read 34 such stories in my book(link in my signature). We know that allowing voluntary Physician Assisted Suicide will be one step closer to a society, like Belgium which has recently begun to euthanize children, the Netherlands where the elderly are afraid to go to a hospital,  or Denmark which bragged by 2030, there will be no more people with Down syndrome. 

America is the the nation who opens her arms to those in need from around the world, we must not become a place where you have to be perfect to survive. 

Leticia Velasquez
Co-founder of KIDS (Keep Infants with Down Syndrome)
author of "A Special Mother is Born".