Iceland is not alone in its attempt to “eradicate” people with Down syndrome. In Denmark, the abortion rate for babies diagnosed with Down syndrome is 98 percent, in France, it is 77 percent and the United States now sits at about 67 percent.
When the adoption was complete and we applied for her visa, we found that she was prohibited from entering the country. The list of conditions banned by the Centers for Disease Control included Down syndrome — as if it might be contagious. We had to obtain a special exemption by the CDC to allow her to immigrate.