Children's picture used as worst-case scenario

Suppose you posed with your son and two other happy children at poolside for what you thought was supposed to be a local magazine's "Summer" issue. Then this portrait appeared on the cover of a "Maternity" issue with the following headline near the children's smiling faces: "Understanding the Results is Key for Prenatal Screening Tests."

The accompanying cover story details the battery of tests one woman goes through because an early blood test indicated she might be carrying a fetus with Down Syndrome. Nowhere in the story or in the entire issue is there any discussion about raising children with Down Syndrome. The children are apparently on the cover only to underscore the drama of testing for birth defects. Of course, this is devastating and appalling to the parents. Jan (adult in photo, with her son, Nash, up front) includes the address of the magazine, Indy's Child, in her description of these events, in case you want to help her express the inappropriateness of a magazine about children using a picture of children as a worse-case scenario.

Thanks to Penny Richards at Disability Studies, Temple U. for posting about this.