Friday, February 25, 2011

Two show feature DS issues in their plots this evening.

Did anyone happen to catch Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice this evening. Both episodes had Down syndrome as part of their content. Thursday night is my tv night and low and behold the topic was brought up.

Grey's brought up the topic in the form of prenatal testing.. Two doctor's shared different opinions on this. The one that seemed to be expressed a little more was that a special needs child may have a lot of medical issues. Then they brought in the option of doing a amnio and the risks of it.

The second show which followed and is by the same producer focused more on a teenage girl with Ds who is pregnant. Her mother did not want her daughter to have the child and took her daughter for an abortion. The doctors on this show questioned what to do in this circumstance and if the girl with DS could help parent the child. Ultimately the mother of the girl with DS made the choice for her daughter without telling her that she was going for an abortion.

Just wondering if anyone watched these and what your thoughts are on this? ( Hope my description is clear. I am a little tired.)

I think it is good to see more shows talking about DS on TV. It does bring the topic of genetic testing to the forefront and hopefully makes people thing. However I wished they took a stronger role that it is okay to have a child with DS.

Or some type of information such as a link to a Down Syndrome Association online that is connected to their show. Some parents right now trying to make the decision about their child might have been watching. I was proud and happy that the girl with DS did a good acting job. The more exposure to DS the more we can talk about it and not try to ignore the topic of prenatal testing and termination rates.

What are your thought.

3 comments:

Erin said...

I love hearing and seeing Ds on TV. I love that there is so much exposure right now. We do need to talk about these issues but more then anything show that Ds isn't something to fear.

Adrienne said...

The one Thursday I miss!! Can't believe these two shows had this, I'll have to catch up and watch them! Thanks for sharing!

Arisa Alexanian said...

I saw both shows.
On Grey's I was not impressed that they only looked at it from a clinical perspective when making their decisions.
On PP, I could sense that the mother was completely overwhelmed with the thought of raising another child.
I am glad to see DS as a topic of discussion with the entertainment world, I wish we just saw a more balanced approach to it.