Hi, my name is Karen, and I have Down syndrome.
It is not a disease, it is not contagious,
and you can’t catch it from anyone.
It's okay, I know I am different than you.
I look differently, I talk differently, I
walk differently.
I don't hear as well as most of you do, and
I don't see as well either.
And sometimes it takes me longer to learn
things.
Now, another thing that is different about
me is that I can probably SWIM much longer
and much farther than many of you watching
this video.
You may be faster than me at the start, but
I will outlast you on time and distance
any day of the week.
You should know that I have some pretty big
swims on my resume, like a relay across the
English Channel and a nine-mile nonstop solo
straight across the width of Lake Tahoe.
I also like to tell people that I am the first
person with Down syndrome to escape from Alcatraz.
I have done that swim from Alcatraz Island,
where the prison used to be, all the way across
the San Francisco Bay 16 times now.
I have a regular high school diploma, a 
2 year college degree,
an honorary doctorate degree.
And…I have a good paying job.
In short, my life is amazing.
It is important that you know that I am not
the exception for people with Down syndrome.
Stories are pouring into newsrooms, websites,
and Facebook pages all around the world about
people with Down syndrome who are business
owners, hard working employees, actors, musicians,
surfers, hockey players, and public speakers,
all showing what is possible when we are given
the chance to live a full and inclusive life.
You know, 50 years ago, people like me didn’t
even have a place in the classroom…
But then, HUMANITY showed up…
and all that began to change.
That’s why you see what you are seeing today.
Yes, that’s right…a full and inclusive
life!
Our lives are worth living.
And yet, there are those who have come to believe
 that conditions such as Down syndrome,
are not compatible with life.
And it is much easier today to do something
about that.
Tragically, humanity has taken a back seat,
and millions of people just like me are killed
before we can take our first breath.
Ending the life of an unborn child because
he or she will have a disability is wrong,
it is very, very wrong.
This comes from a belief that people with
disabilities are weak and need to be weeded
out from society.
This view is unjust, tragic, and deserving
of international outrage.
It has no place in a world that stands for
basic human rights.
It is a human rights violation to kill someone
who is 25 years old and who has a special
condition or disability, and it should also
be considered a human rights violation to
kill someone for these same conditions when
she is a child, a baby, or preborn child.
Instead of ending the lives of people who
are different from us, let’s celebrate their
lives and their right to live up to their
own unique, full potential.
Celebrating the things that make us unique
individuals – even the difficult things
– that’s Humanity at work!
Let’s embrace those dads and moms who are
choosing life for their babies who may be
born with disabilities.
AND let's band together, to focus on improving
those lives, not preventing them.
