#2225 (2/10) PRO-LIFE SAT: "Meet Lucas, the Adorable New Gerber Baby With Down Syndrome"

"MEET LUCAS, THE ADORABLE NEW GERBER BABY WITH DOWN SYNDROME" - Leah Barkoukis : Feb 08, 2018; https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2018/02/08/new-gerber-baby-has-down-syndrome-n2446213

The 2018 Gerber baby meets all the usual criteria to be a winner—namely, being adorable and happy—but 1-year-old Lucas Warren stands out for another reason: He’s the first child with Down syndrome to be selected as the “Gerber Spokesbaby.”

ADORABLE: The winning smile goes to 18-month-old Lucas Warren, the first baby with Down syndrome to be awarded first place for the Gerber baby contest in its 91-year history. http://fxn.ws/2BgQdQj 

Warren, who’s from Dalton, Georgia, won the distinction from more than 140,000 photos that were submitted from parents across the country. His mother, Cortney Warren, submitted a photo of him wearing a green shirt, polka dot tie, and with a huge grin on his face. That smile was what caught the company’s eye. “Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber’s long-standing heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby,” said Bill Partyka, chief executive and president of Gerber. “This year, Lucas is the perfect fit.”

In a world where far too many people and countries (like Iceland) don’t believe in the value of every human life, Gerber’s decision should be celebrated. Many parents, particularly those who have children with Down syndrome, did just that. 
    “In a puddle of tears over here…my mama heart is so so thankful…when Bodie was born I believed a lie, that others would not value him as much as I do. But, today is a new day. It is such a beautiful, good day,” Instagram user samanthajob wrote. 
     Another user, catfishwithketchup, commented on Warren’s Instagram photo: “My older sister has Down syndrome and she inspired my husband and I to start our family by adopting a baby with Down syndrome. That baby is almost 8 now and I’m so optimistic for her future opportunities thanks to initiatives like this. Thank you for celebrating the diversity of the human condition! He’s gorgeous! Awesome selection!”
    Warren’s father, Jason Warren, was hopeful his son’s new role as Gerber Spokesbaby will bring increased awareness and acceptance of people with Down syndrome. “We’re hoping this will impact everyone — that it will shed a little bit of light on the special needs community and help more individuals with special needs be accepted and not limited,” he told “Today.” “They have the potential to change the world, just like everybody else.”

Obianuju Ekeocha ✔
@obianuju - I’m so glad that everyone is celebrating Lucas- the first Gerber baby with Down syndrome. But the elephant in the room is that in many western countries unborn babies with Down Syndrome are being detected by tests & most are killed. #GenocideInTheWomb 

590 people are talking about this - “He may have Down syndrome, but he’s always Lucas first,” his mother told “Today.” “He’s got an awesome personality, and he goes through the milestones of every child. .?.?. We’re hoping when he grows up and looks back on this, he’ll be proud of himself and not ashamed of his disability.”

Bravo, Gerber.

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"New Gerber Baby is a Little Boy With Down Syndrome" - Wesley Smith, Feb.7, 2018| http://www.lifenews.com/2018/02/07/new-gerber-baby-is-a-little-boy-with-down-syndrome/
... This is excellent, a very visible and enthusiastic support for human exceptionalism and equal moral worth.  This years’s “Gerber Baby” has Down syndrome. From the Today story: The 2018 Gerber baby is Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia who is the first child with Down syndrome to be named a Gerber baby since the contest’s start in 2010. “He’s very outgoing and never meets a stranger,” Lucas’s mom, Cortney, told TODAY Parents. “He loves to play, loves to laugh and loves to make other people laugh.”

Don’t tell Iceland. That country has wiped babies with Down off their territory through a pogrom of eugenic abortion targeting fetuses with that condition.

Don’t tell France. That country refused to permit a Down syndrome support organization run a TV ad extolling the joys of raising a Down child because it could make women who aborted Down fetuses feel guilty.

Don’t tell Peter Singer of Princeton. He has advocated the propriety of infanticide of Down syndrome infants–e.g. post-birth abortion.

Do applaud Gerber for making an all-too-rare very positive statement about the inherent value of people with Down.

[italics and colored emphasis mine]

LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.