Like many first-time voters, Sophie Stern couldn’t wait to cast her vote for president. But for Sophie, who has Down syndrome, navigating her identity is complicated. Amy Silverman, Sophie’s mother, appeared on the show to explain.
“Hey mom, what is an abortion?”
I choked on my cocktail.
“Um, what?”
“What is abortion?”
I put down my glass, cleared my throat, and turned to my second daughter. We were having dinner as a family on the patio of our favorite restaurant in Phoenix, enjoying the first cool night after the hottest October anyone could remember.
The conversation turned to elections. Of course it was. Sophie always gets angry when someone brings up politics. She’d rather talk about the “Dancing with the Stars” winners and her recent musical theater roles.
But tonight, Sophie wasn’t playing video games under the table or texting me that she was bored. she was listening. Probably because you can’t escape elections. Her beloved Taylor Swift is also in on it. Probably because she’s growing up. And for the first time, she was old enough to vote in a presidential election.
I took a sip of my gin and bent down to speak softly into her ear.
“Okay. Abortion is a medical procedure that a woman undergoes when she is pregnant but does not want to have a baby. There can be various reasons for this. There are a lot of fights over whether women should be allowed to make this decision.”
I looked at Sophie.
“you know what i mean?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. She seemed satisfied with that answer.
But I wasn’t satisfied at all.
What I wanted to tell her was that abortion is an incredibly complex subject for anyone, but it’s even more complex for her. And for me too.
If I had known I was carrying a baby with Down syndrome, I almost certainly would have aborted it. At the time, I didn’t know anything about Down syndrome. The doctor just plainly told me it was bad.
I wanted to tell Sophie that I’ve been thinking about it every day since she was born. Sophie and I, and her entire world, were really, really lucky when I didn’t have an abortion.
But I also wanted to tell Sophie that I worry every day that one day she will become pregnant with a child she doesn’t want or intend to have and won’t be able to access a legal abortion. is. Carrying a baby to term against her will could put both her physical and mental health at risk.
I’m also worried about my sister.
But the truth is, Sophie’s case is different. It’s always different. Still, Sophie has grown up, for better or for worse. She may not understand all the nuances of the abortion debate, but neither did 21-year-old me.
This week, Sophie will be voting. We’ve talked a lot about identity politics and women and people of color in public office. The other night, on a walk, I asked her, “What about a president with Down syndrome?”
Sophie didn’t hesitate. She pumped first. “I’ll do it!”
You have my vote, Soph.
Transcripts of KJZZ’s The Show are produced on deadline. This text has been edited for length and clarity and may not be in its final form. The authoritative record of KJZZ’s programming is an audio recording.
