5 interesting things said during night 3 of the RNC
Mom says doctor encouraged her to abort son with Down syndrome
School choice advocate Tera Myers spoke for about three minutes from the RNC stage at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington to detail how “education freedom” has benefitted her son Samuel, who has Down syndrome.
“Before Samuel was even born, I was told his life wouldn’t be worth living,” she said.
“When early tests revealed he had Down syndrome, our doctor encouraged me to terminate the pregnancy. He said, ‘If you do not, you will be burdening your life, your family and your community.’”
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Myers strongly objected to that suggestion.
“I knew my baby was a human being created by God and that made him worthy of life,” she proclaimed. “I am thankful that President Trump values the life of the unborn.”
Myers recalled how she wanted Samuel to attend the same public school that his sisters attended. But she said school officials told her to “just go home.”
“When I inquired about functional learning, I was told: ‘This is all you get, like it or not,’” she recalled.
“Well, I did not like it,” she continued. “One size did not fit all.”
The experience Myers had trying to enroll her special-needs son in public school led her to become an advocate for school choice programs that allow students and parents to use government funding already allocated for students to fund their education outside of public schools.
“I helped fight to pass legislation in Ohio for a special-needs scholarship so that all students could choose the right program for their needs,” Myers explained. “I worked to start a new functional-learning program at our local private school. Finally, Samuel had an appropriate place to learn.”
Myers went on to discuss how she and Samuel were invited to the White House last December to meet with the president.
“‘School choice helped my dreams come true,’” she recalled Samuel saying during the meeting. “‘My school taught me the way I learn best. I was able to fit in. I made many friends. I became a part of my community. My teachers helped me become the best I could be.’”
Myers got emotional as she remembered how Trump reacted to meeting Samuel.
“‘Wonderful job, mom,’” Myers recalled the president telling her. “‘Your son is amazing.’”
She contrasted Trump’s treatment of Samuel with her doctor’s encouragement to abort her child.
“Unlike the doctor who told me to end Samuel’s life before it even began, President Trump did not dismiss my son,” Myers explained. “He showed Samuel he valued him and was proud of what he accomplished. President Trump gave Samuel an equal seat at the table.”
