{"id":278980,"date":"2022-11-03T06:39:08","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T11:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=278980"},"modified":"2022-11-02T17:57:25","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T22:57:25","slug":"down-syndrome-dad-life-changing-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/down-syndrome-dad-life-changing-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"A Down syndrome diagnosis led to this dad’s life-changing mission of advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kurt Kondrich\u2019s dream was to serve his community as a police officer, delaying marriage while fulfilling his goals. When he married his wife Margie, the couple wasn\u2019t sure they could have children \u2014 but at the age of 36, Margie gave birth to their son. Kondrich was thrilled. Four years later, when Margie was expecting their second child, she was informed the baby was at high risk for Down syndrome due to her advanced age. Doctors pressured the couple to undergo testing for the condition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t understand why these tests needed to be performed,” Kondrich told Live Action News. “But the medical staff kept telling us we could end the pregnancy \u2014 and even encouraged we do so \u2014 if the tests indicated our baby had Down syndrome. I was astounded; I would never consider executing my child regardless of the disability.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Margie did notice the baby was not as active as their older child had been, the couple was determined to continue the pregnancy and refused prenatal testing. Kondrich had always lived his life serving and protecting the innocent and he couldn\u2019t fathom terminating pregnancies because of abnormalities detected in the womb.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere seems to be this cultural mandate for unattainable protection,\u201d Kondrich said. \u201cI don\u2019t know anyone who has a \u2018normal\u2019 child. We knew our child was a girl and we had named her Chloe. We already loved her and couldn\u2019t wait to welcome her into our family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When Chloe was born, tests verified she had Down syndrome. Despite her initial trepidation, Kondrich\u2019s wife was eager to hold and bond with their baby \u2013 much to the surprise of the doctors. The couple didn\u2019t know much about Down syndrome and the hospital staff did not seem willing to offer guidance. Kondrich also noticed the nurses did not check on their baby as often as they did other babies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kondrich said, \u201cWe were basically ignored by hospital staff, but I managed to sneak in a bottle of wine to celebrate Chloe\u2019s birth and brought her big brother Nolan to see her. He immediately fell in love with her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, Kondrich noticed a nurse had left some material about Down syndrome she had gleaned from the Internet in the hospital room. The Kondrichs connected to the Down Syndrome Center and learned from other couples who chose to undergo prenatal testing that they, too, had been urged to end their pregnancies once Down syndrome had been detected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following a new purpose<\/b><\/p>\n

Kondrich also discovered that Iceland claimed to have \u201ccured” Down syndrome through prenatal genocide, a practice he saw occurring in his own country. Shocked and saddened, Kondrich decided to leave his career in law enforcement and return to school to earn a master\u2019s degree in early childhood intervention.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was as if these prenatal tests were being weaponized against babies in the womb who don\u2019t meet predetermined standards,\u201d he said. \u201cHow could I sit back and not do anything while the world was wiping out children like Chloe?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kondrich was appointed chair to an advisory committee in Pennsylvania, providing him with an avenue to impact legislation around services for children with special needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a mission to educate our community about the positive aspects of children with disabilities and made regular trips to the state capital with Chloe by my side to meet with legislators and compel them to increase state funding for early educational services,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

His determination paid off when, after seven months of advocacy, the Down Syndrome Prenatal Education Act was signed into law with bi-partisan support. Dubbed \u201cChloe\u2019s Law,\u201d it mandates that women be provided with positive information about Down syndrome.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of Chloe\u2019s Law, Pennsylvania is now the best place for children with disabilities,\u201d Kondrich said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Author Stephanie Wincik, who was writing a book about Down syndrome, had read about Kondrich’s advocacy and contacted him. Her book, \u201cBrilliant Souls,\u201d released in 2003, profiled the extraordinary nature of those with Down syndrome and included Chloe\u2019s story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Advocacy that impacted a global audience<\/b><\/p>\n

For the \u201cDADvocate,\u201d the passage of Chloe\u2019s Law opened the doors of opportunities beyond anything he could have imagined. He received a deluge of speaking engagements and met with notable figures such as Mike Pence and Dr. Mehmet Oz. He appeared before the United Nations twice to vehemently refute Iceland\u2019s policy of prenatal genocide. Women from all over the world became emotional hearing Kondrich\u2019s testimony; many wanted to meet Chloe and take photos with her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kondrich told Live Action News, \u201cMy daughter loves people for who they are. She doesn\u2019t see background, gender, race, or ethnicity. When people meet Chloe, they can\u2019t deny she has a right to be here. Those who are progressive are supposed to be all about tolerance, but their narrative often collapses in the face of their intolerance for those who are less than perfect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A pro-life Italian reporter was so inspired by Kondrich\u2019s testimony that she returned to the United States and produced a short video<\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>which she posted on a website in seven languages. The clip received worldwide acclaim.<\/span><\/p>\n