Gov. Palin didn't make a "choice" to have a child with special-needs because there wasn't one to be made. As a person with Cerebral Palsy, which cannot be diagnosed prenatally, I find it alarming that genetic or physical defects are viewed as grounds for "choice." No, parents of special-needs children don't have it easy, and neither the parents nor the kid himself is ever prepared for the challenges that come with disabilities, but in 22 years I have NEVER met a single parent who would rather they hadn't had a special-needs child, and most had no advance notice.

Would you, Dr. Parikh, suggest, as "bioethcist" Peter Singer does, that my parents would've had a "choice" to leave me to die after I was delivered? Rape, incest, and economic instability are one thing when it comes to justifying choice, but wanting a baby free of challenges is an insult to people with disabilities, as if to say we somehow destroyed our mother's lives. As a doctor who should be enlightened as to the tremendous contributions disabled people make to the world, you should be ashamed to suggest that whether disabled babies live or die, based on their non-life-threatening defects, is up to the parents. I doubt the American Association of Disabled People is lining up behind Obama in light of all this discussion of "rights" to abort based on special-needs.

I wonder if positions on the right to choose to carry a pregnancy to term when they finally identify genes that make a baby homosexual. I'm pretty sure ya'll would join me in passing legislation to make that a hate crime.

Give the guy a break, and all you leftists, snap out of it, for gosh sakes! The coasts may be full of far-left "progressives" but the majority of the people in this country are centrist. Why do you think people loved Clinton? Because he was able to work across party lines and get stuff done.

The last few Democratic Presidents are:

Obama (now)

Clinton

Carter

Johnson

Kennedy

All of these men were CENTRIST! There's a reason McGovern and Mondale aren't on the damn list! Even Reagan had a great working partnership with Tip O'Neill.

Politics is the art of compromise.

Let's face it people. We have millions of Americans out of work who's companies got no bailout, but the Unions think they're entitled to taxpayer money to foot the bill for their gold-plated benefits packages? Hell, no!

Don't get me wrong, the Big Three made this mess by vehemently opposing increased fuel efficiency standards for the past two decades. But guess who was helping the CEOs defeat mileage standards? The UAW! The idea that somehow the UAW is a victim in this is beyond asinine. Chrysler shouldn't even be allowed to go to congress to ask for money, because Cerberus Capital, their parent company, is sitting on enough money to finance the entire bailout themselves.

I'd love to make $30+ an hour to sit on my fanny (heard of the UAW "Jobs Bank" program?), but it's unrealistic, and I'll have a degree from UNC, one of the best schools in the country in May, which, by the way, I got no help paying for. So the UAW, GM and Chrysler can stick it as far as I'm concerned.

I am a 22 year old college senior, so I am not married. My parents grew up in the 50s and 60s and were high school sweethearts. When they married at 20, they thought they had the world ahead of them, but like Paul, my Dad had terrible, undiagnosed ADD and a host of other issues.

My parents' marriage is far from perfect-there's been plenty of screaming, bouts with alcoholism, etc. But because the foundation was love, here we are 36 years and 4 children later. 75% of my friends parents are divorced and have everything. I didn't have much (though my parents rarely said no to what was reasonable), but I had an awesome, yet dysfunctional family that was fiercely loyal to each other in good times and bad.

It sadddens me and my parents that divorce has been so normal. My mom says that was one of the downsides of the 60s- a "all about me and my wants and needs" culture that has wrought some unintended consequences on kids of all ages. Maybe thats why people my age are on all kinds of psychiatric medications for depression, and incapable of having a meaningful relationship that starts with a date rather than a drunken hook-up at a party. If you don't have love, which obligates people and sometimes makes things messy, you have nothing to lose, but the one thing you do have is one sad existence full of shit that won't matter when you're dead.

Let's learn from this essay. Let's change our perspective on life and what matters.

Benjamin-the-donkey,

Personally I'd want to punch the guy and tell him to get a job real job like Paul and grow a pair.

Traister acts as if telling your folks that you're pregnant in high school should be like telling them how your day was.

As someone who grew up with three sisters, I can tell you my folks would be shamed and mortified if their kid told them they were pregnant as a teenager. Abortion wouldn't be an option as long as my sister intended to continue living in my parents' home.

So what if Bristol felt pressured by her folks? Whatever happened to the rule I grew up with, even growing up in the 1990s, "My house, my rules. As long as I am paying your bills and feeding and clothing you, I am the parent, you're the child. Therefore, we as your parents make choices for you. Questions?"

It amazes me to see that the parents who do not set boundaries or provide consequences for their kids are the same people who wonder why their kids are maladjusted and have no respect for their parents.