Are We Choosing Which Lives Deserve To Be Born? The Quiet Genocide
In Iceland, around 85% of expectant mothers undergo first-trimester genetic screening. Nearly 100% of those who receive a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome choose to terminate the pregnancy. Only two or three babies with the condition are born there each year.
Denmark reports a termination rate of over 95%. In France, it's around 77%. These numbers have sparked concern among ethicists and disability advocates, who warn of a troubling cultural shift: one that frames the existence of disability as undesirable — and preventable.
The American Context
In the United States, where prenatal screening is optional and unstandardized, the termination rate after a Down syndrome diagnosis ranges from 60% to 90%, depending on geography, access to care, and socioeconomic status.
Despite these figures, advocacy groups like the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) offer a different perspective. According to their 2022 Fact Sheet, life expectancy for individuals with Down syndrome has risen from 25 years in 1983 to more than 60 years today. People with the condition increasingly live independent lives, attend school, hold jobs, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.
'Contemporary Eugenics' and the Role of NIPT
The AMA Journal of Ethics has raised a pressing question: Are today's prenatal screening practices — particularly non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) — a modern form of eugenics?
Unlike the coercive eugenics of the 20th century, contemporary eugenics doesn't require state enforcement. It operates subtly through individual decisions, medical norms, and cultural assumptions about what kinds of lives are 'worth living.' NIPT, which detects chromosomal conditions like Down syndrome as early as 10 weeks, may give the illusion of 'informed choice' while implicitly devaluing disability.
'Even making screening available for Down syndrome… is already, by definition, suggesting that they are not valued reproductive outcomes,' the article states.
The concern, as the authors put it, is that society may be shrinking the definition of 'normal' while expanding the definition of 'abnormal' — a shift driven not by malice, but by medicine, convenience, and silence.
Frank Stephens: A Voice for the Valued
That silence was broken in a viral speech by disability advocate Frank Stephens, who has Down syndrome and testified before Congress:
'I would like to make three points. First, we are a medical gift to society — a blueprint for medical research into cancer, Alzheimer's, and immune system disorders.
'Second, we are an unusually powerful source of happiness. A Harvard-based study found that people with Down syndrome, as well as their parents and siblings, are happier than society at large. Surely happiness is worth something.
'Finally, we are the canary in the eugenics coal mine. We are giving the world a chance to think about the ethics of choosing which humans get a chance at life.'
His testimony reframes the conversation: not just about disability, but about who gets counted as human — and what it means when entire categories of people begin to disappear.
A Local Voice of Compassion
Monty Bennett, a Dallas-based hotelier and philanthropist, is also the Publisher of The Dallas Express. But for Bennett, advocacy on behalf of children with disabilities is not just professional — it's personal.
As the father of a special needs child, Bennett has witnessed both the challenges and the beauty of raising a child the world doesn't always understand. His experience has shaped his lifelong commitment to supporting and defending the value of every human life.
'Every life has a divine purpose, regardless of what chromosomes they carry,' Bennett told The Dallas Express. 'As the father of a special needs child, I've seen the challenges — and the incredible joy — that come with raising someone the world often overlooks. It breaks my heart to think of how many lives — full of love, dignity and joy — are quietly erased before they ever get a chance.
'Our son is an incredible blessing,' he added. 'If society measured value not by perfection but by compassion, children like him would be at the top of every list.'
Bennett has long supported the development of early childhood programs that serve children with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities. His philanthropy reflects a broader conviction — that children born with special needs deserve not just protection, but opportunities to thrive in a world that too often doubts their worth.
Reframing the Future
Disability rights advocates say the real danger isn't just the test — it's the unspoken cultural script that surrounds it. Campaigns like 'Don't Screen Us Out' warn that prenatal screening, especially when not accompanied by balanced counseling, becomes a method of informal eugenics.
Choice, they argue, is only meaningful when society embraces the full spectrum of life — and supports parents, no matter the diagnosis.
As prenatal technology advances, we're forced to reckon with what it reveals about us: Are we simply diagnosing? Or are we deciding who gets to be born?
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Explosions at US Steel plant in Pennsylvania leave 1 dead, 2 missing and multiple injured
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'Shook the scaffold, shook my chest, and shook the building, and then when we saw the dark smoke coming up from the steel mill and put two and two together, and it's like something bad happened.' Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said via X that 'multiple explosions' occurred at the facility. Allegheny Health Network said it had seven patients from the explosion being treated by its hospitals. It did not provide information about the patients' conditions. University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said it is treating two patients at UPMC Mercy, the region's only level one trauma and burn center. Clairton residents like Amy Sowers, 49, felt an explosion nearby. Sowers, who was sitting on her porch located less than a mile from the plant, felt her house shake. 'I could see smoke from my driveway,' she said. 'We heard ambulances and fire trucks from every direction." Sowers decided to leave the area after she said she smelled a faint smell in the air. Sowers, who grew up in Clairton, has seen several incidents at the plant over the years. Despite health concerns, Sowers said many residents cannot afford to leave. A maintenance worker was killed in an explosion at the plant in September 2009. In July 2010, another explosion injured 14 employees and six contractors. 'Lives were lost again,' Sowers said. 'How many more lives are going to have to be lost until something happens?' Air quality concerns and health warnings The plant, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, is considered the largest coking operation in North America and is one of four major U.S. Steel plants in Pennsylvania that employ several thousand workers. In a statement, U.S. Steel said an 'incident' occurred at the plant's coke oven batteries 13 and 14. The company, now a subsidiary of Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp., said emergency teams were immediately dispatched to the scene, but it gave no other details about the cause of the explosions, casualties or damage. The company's CEO, David Burritt, said in the statement that U.S. Steel is working with authorities to investigate the cause. The plant converts coal to coke, a key component in the steel-making process. To make coke, coal is baked in special ovens for hours at high temperatures to remove impurities that could otherwise weaken steel. The process creates what's known as coke gas — made up of a lethal mix of methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said his heart goes out to the victims of Monday's explosions. 'The mill is such a big part of Clairton,' he said. 'It's just a sad day for Clairton.' The Allegheny County Health Department said it is monitoring the explosions and advised residents within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of the plant to remain indoors, close all windows and doors, set air conditioning systems to recirculate, and avoid drawing in outside air, such as using exhaust fans. It said its monitors have not detected levels of soot or sulfur dioxide above federal standards. According to the company, the plant produces 4.3 million tons (3.9 million metric tons) of coke annually and has approximately 1,400 workers. The plant has a long history of pollution concerns In recent years, the Clairton plant has been dogged by concerns about pollution. In 2019, it agreed to settle a 2017 lawsuit for $8.5 million. Under the settlement, the company agreed to spend $6.5 million to reduce soot emissions and noxious odors from the Clairton coke-making facility. The company also faced other lawsuits over pollution from the Clairton facility, including ones accusing the company of violating clean air laws after a 2018 fire damaged the facility's sulfur pollution controls. In February, a problem with a battery at the plant led to a 'buildup of combustible material' that ignited, causing an audible 'boom,' the Allegheny County Health Department said. Two workers who got material in their eyes received first aid treatment at a local hospital but were not seriously injured. Last year, the company agreed to spend $19.5 million in equipment upgrades and $5 million on local clean air efforts and programs as part of settling a federal lawsuit filed by Clean Air Council and PennEnvironment and the Allegheny County Health Department. The fire at the Clairton plant knocked out pollution controls at its Mon Valley plants, but U.S. Steel continued to run them anyway, environmental groups said. The lawsuits accused the steel producer of more than 12,000 violations of its air pollution permits. Environmental group calls for an investigation David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, another environmental group that has sued U.S. Steel over pollution, said there needed to be 'a full, independent investigation into the causes of this latest catastrophe and a re-evaluation as to whether the Clairton plant is fit to keep operating.' In June, U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel announced they had finalized a 'historic partnership,' a deal that gives the U.S. government a say in some matters and comes a year and a half after the Japanese company first proposed its nearly $15 billion buyout of the iconic American steelmaker. The pursuit by Nippon Steel for the Pittsburgh-based company was buffeted by national security concerns and presidential politics in a premier battleground state, dragging out the transaction for more than a year after U.S. Steel shareholders approved it. ___ Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Casey reported from Boston and Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Associated Press reporters Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, and Beatrice Dupuy in New York City contributed to this report.
