Alaska Governor Looks out for the Little Guy

The Governor of Alaska just gave birth to her fifth child, who happens to have Down Syndrome. Sarah Palin had just completed a stunning first year in office as a maverick Republican governor, when her doctor gave her the news that her baby would have Down's Syndrome.

The doctor's announcement in December, when Palin was four months pregnant, presented her with a possible life- and career-changing development.

"I've never had problems with my other pregnancies, so I was shocked," said Palin, a mother of four other children.

"It took a while to open up the book that the doctor gave me about children with Down syndrome, and a while to log on to the Web site and start reading facts about the situation."

The 44-year-old governor waited a few days before telling her husband, Todd, who was out of town, so she could understand what was ahead for them.

Once her husband got the news, he told her: "We shouldn't be asking, 'Why us?' We should be saying, 'Well, why not us?'"

There was never any doubt the Palins would have the child, and on April 18 she gave birth to Trig Paxson Van Palin.

"We've both been very vocal about being pro-life," Palin said. "We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential."

The Pro-Abortion Left and their allies in the Main Stream Media seldom realize that the pro-life movement is dominated by women, courageous, strong women, like Gov. Palin.

Another elected official who has a child with Down syndrome said Palin will likely have detractors, but that shouldn't change ambitions for the mother or child.

U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican from Washington state, has just celebrated the first birthday of her son Cole, her first child, who was born with Down syndrome. She is busy campaigning for a third term, and Cole often travels with her between Washington, D.C., and the Pacific Northwest.

"Cole opened my eyes to the pain and trouble a lot of families endure," Rodgers said. "He's allowed me to see people and circumstance more deeply, and the generosity of people.

"It's in human nature to focus on the negative, on what the person can't do. In our mind, we are focused on what he can do, what he will be able to do and do very well."

I have had this very same experience. The vulnerability of the special needs child opens the heart of those around him, not only his immediate family, but others as well. Kudos to these pro-life, Republican women.