This is a beautiful picture of 3 children playing in a water park. The three little ones on the cover have Down syndrome, although at first glance, I would have never noticed that. I see three kids on a fun water-filled day enjoying just being kids.
This picture was taken for "Indy's Child" magazine - by special request of the magazine to the Indianapolis Down Syndrome Foundation, these kids were the precious models for this picture.
What the magazine failed to tell any of the parents whose children appear on the cover of the magazine was that it would be their "Special Maternity Issue" in which prenatal testing would be discussed.
The magazine failed to tell the parents that there would be a very biased, very one-sided story by author Amy Cahill in which she discusses prenatal testing, and how devastating it was to suspect even for a moment during her pregnancy that her child might have Down syndrome, and then proudly proclaims at the end of the story how very fortunate she was because her child was born and showed no signs of Down syndrome...and how reassuring that is.
Imagine the pain my friend Jan ("Mauzy's Musings" in my blog list) and her husband are going through -- how violated they feel because a picture of their son was used in such a misrepresented way. Imagine that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach that even just one person might think you have agreed to allow your child's picture be used in a way that would say, "hey, you can avoid having a child like mine."
This is beyond my comprehension - I cannot imagine that this magazine is a PARENTING magazine with no more sensitivities or sensibilities than that.
Please share your story, and your displeasure, with this magazine:
editor@indyschild.com
Indy's Child Magazine
Attn: Tom Wynne, Editor
1901 Broad Ripple Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
No comments:
Post a Comment