Before marrying, Cypriots must be tested so that carriers of the disease gene can be identified. They are then offered genetic counseling if they marry, and abortions if a fetus is determined to have the disease. Even though the only requirement is the premarital test, the program has resulted in the near-elimination of new cases of the disease.
My reason for posting this note in this forum was to so i could be understood and to read about any one that was faced with the same issue as me. I did not mean to offend any one or upset anyone but simply writing in here my absolute true thoughts and feelings about this issue. I could have lied all along.....I could have wrote that yeh your right i am going to give birth to a baby Thal major or minor or no thal. But this would not have been truthful and i would have lied to myself and to everyone who has read this.
It is against my religion to abort and this is why i am having a very difficult time with this. When i found out about our circumstance i wanted to have a child regardless...my husband wants me to abort a thal major child...After lots of talks with proffesional and seeking different advice i too decided it is probably best to terminate...I am not a hard hearted person. My heart is telling me not to do it and my mind is telling me its for the best. i have to also respect my husbands wishes as well when making this decision.
I just wanted to meet people in the same boat as me.... thats all.... to offer me support.
Everyone has different views about different things it dosent mean that one person is right and the other is wrong.
Jemma :hug
In my opinion it’s a right decision to take, as Miaki said I don’t think by taking such a bold decision we are doing anything against Mother Nature, or rather I feel it’s a decision to take to build a healthy generation.
What ever it is, since with the help of medical knowledge there is this chance that we can avoid getting thal majors, I would say it’s a right decision every one should take.
Ohh!!!! I get it now ......... If you dont have the same view point as us then dont bother writing in here......Right...
I came on this site cause i am thal minor and because i have an issue and there are so many people in this world with this same problem.....This is happening every day to other couples.....now whoever wants to live in LA LA land can do just that. You dont like what i write......EASY dont read it....... And for those who are in this predicament please write....
Thank you
It is against my religion to abort and this is why i am having a very difficult time with this. When i found out about our circumstance i wanted to have a child regardless...my husband wants me to abort a thal major child...After lots of talks with proffesional and seeking different advice i too decided it is probably best to terminate...I am not a hard hearted person. My heart is telling me not to do it and my mind is telling me its for the best. i have to also respect my husbands wishes as well when making this decision.
Hi does any one know in whihc religion Medically Terminated Pregnancy (MTP) is not allowed, As Jemma has said her religion does not allow her to make that decison. I am not sure which religion she is.
The Roman Catholic church forbids abortions, under any and all grounds. The church and its followers consider it to be a mortal sin.
Too much of a problem for you Jem? Or are the snickering voices behind raised hands in your community what really worries you?
Dannielle i just wanted to give another hug :hug :hug :hug :hug
Well I think abortion is not allowed in any religon, here I am talking medically terminated pregnancy (MTP) I think this has diffrent meaning than simply abortion. In allopathic medicine MTP is a common practice for many other conditions as well, if there is danger to mother also some times MTP can be done. We dont refer them as simply abortion. Therefore I think its important to clarify this issue, may be its diffrent from society to society and diffrent beliefs.
Actually, based on what I have read of theology, Hinduism has a more open mind on this topic .... a more woman-friendly approach, if you will. Hindu texts take a fairly ambiguous approach to this whole issue
When I see these thals in some places give up one after another, I know there's plenty of thals who see no reason to live...I think hearing the other "positive" side can help them but the other side needs to recognize that this huge problem of feeling life is not worth living exists wide scale.
Yes you can compare different views of the reliigons from the following links. I can say that the information about Islam in the link is correct.
For Hinduism : http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_hinduism1.shtml (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/abortion/relig_hinduism1.shtml)
I wanted to post my similar thoughts too, but chose not to because this topic was for Jemma to help her decide. Furthermore, the other Thals have totally different point of view.
I do actually believe in a woman’s right to chose. The thing is that now with testing to diagnose a carrier of thalassaemia, as well as diagnose a foetus with thalassaemia, there are many choices that a FAMILY (not just a woman) have to make about thalassaemia. For someone who doesn't know anyone who lives with thalassaemia major, it is very hard to be informed about the reality of living with this condition and hence make a choice. Thalassaemia carriers are a large proportion of the thalassaemia community too, and I believe that this board is also to offer them support and advice (based on the fact there is a Thalassaemia Minor section). Doctors can give medical advice about life with thalassaemia, but they cannot provide personal experiences - only you guys can do that!
I had to smirk at your final post Jemma when some poor soul finally gave you the answer you were looking for and basically said he would be better off dead than living with Thal Major.
For the purpose of clarification, even though Danielle said what she did about life as a major, if you read her posts you will see someone who embraces life to its fullest and is very much happy to be alive. She would never say she wishes she was dead. She did say she wouldn't recommend life as a parent of a thal and that is based on the experience she has had in her own life. I feel this speaks more to Danielle's personal compassion towards parents and not wishing them the difficult life of raising a major. She speaks through her own eyes and has seen the effect on her own parents.
Ah, that was actually my opinion Danielle. Not sure where the confusion is there?
I am still quite amazed that a citizen of India can make some of the statements you make about being a thal in India. Face it Poirot, you are one of the priviliged in India.
How many of your countrymen are provided the care you get? How many thal majors die before the age of 10 due to lack of even the most basic care? You can't ignore that this happens widely in India, Pakistan, Thailand etc. It is a pure and simple fact. Things may have changed greatly in India, but this is not for all thals and many still find life involves little if any care. How many Indians can afford desferal? Not everyone can use L1. When I was in India and saw the incredible amount of poor people living in the cities (far more are in the rural communities), my thought was "how many of these are thal carriers and what life do their thal children have?" It can't be ignored.
Your remarks about the Maldivian trip are incomplete. We did go there specifically because the problem there is so difficult. In spite of reasonably adequate basic case in Maldives, many patients there still do give up and refuse to chelate or do any of the things that will keep them alive.
We surely couldn't go into Maldives and tell them life is a bed of roses if you're thal, because they're too smart to believe such a statement.
Maldives needs a huge shake up in their society to educate the general public that thals can and do live real lives, that include careers, marriage and children. Until this happens, many thals there will continue to see no reason to live, as their social future remains quite often bleak. Every week I have another Maldivian tell me that someone broke up with them because they are thal and the parents will not allow it. Without the hope for basic human companionship in life, many thals do give up. This has to change in Maldives, and frankly, after reading TruBlue's post mentioning how so many people within the communities producing thals in Australia, also treat thals badly and either aren't allowed or would even think of marrying a thal, there is obviously MUCH work that needs to be done to change attitudes in the very developed Australia.
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Finally, Andy, when you talk about Maldives:
Oh, I am confused now. Why DID you go to Maldives, then? I thought it was to tell the Maldivian Thals that life was worth living, and that they could do that, with help. To tell them to chelate, so that they could live. And for Shilpa to relate her real life experiences. Sure, you listened to them ..... but did that make you change YOUR message about life?
You couldn't tell that to any "normal" person either, so why bring it up in this context. Life as a bed of roses probably only exists in the life of the idle rich in P G Wodehouse novels, and even then Bertie Wooster had his troubles.
I couldn't AGREE more with you. You change attitudes by presenting positive examples, by talking a positive line, by boosting morale and saying this is not the end of the world.
I am not saying and NEVER said that you stop listening to the negatives or seeing the negatives, but it is MUCH MORE important how you deal with the negative when you come across it. Isn't that our objective? To provide SUPPORT and GOOD CHEER when people are tired and can only see the negatives? I would be very sorry to see this objective lost.
Poirot, I feel that you are just picking up on words and twisting them....and failing to see the genuine meaning and intention behind them. You did the same with Mushto's post about not putting any more thal majors in a life of continuous pain.
Talking positives is all very well and needed, but noone wants your intangible talk, what do you have to show to them tangibly.........the poor man will say first feed me....then talk of positive attitude. You can't tell him, "you do not deserve food just because you could not get it for yourself".
Well, Poirot, I think you successfully distorted each point I made.
I apologise to for my part in your very serious post becoming derailed to such an extent in a pointless duel with the administrator and his lieutenant