Shepperdson B
J Med Ethics. 1983 Sep;9(3):152-7. doi: 10.1136/jme.9.3.152.
A study of 78 parents of Down's syndrome children shows that, while most were in favour of abortion for a handicapped fetus, they were divided equally on whether euthanasia (no distinction made between active and passive euthanasia) was an acceptable practice. Only a third considered an average Down's syndrome child could be a suitable candidate for euthanasia. While parents argued that the degree of handicap of the child was the crucial factor in making this decision, in fact the social class of the parents themselves was the only variable which was statistically significantly related to their opinions. Differences arose from the parents' lack of agreement on what constituted a sufficiently severe handicap.
一项针对78位唐氏综合征患儿家长的研究表明，虽然大多数家长赞成对有缺陷的胎儿进行堕胎，但在安乐死（未区分主动安乐死和被动安乐死）是否可接受的问题上，他们的意见平分秋色。只有三分之一的家长认为普通唐氏综合征患儿可能是安乐死的合适对象。家长们认为孩子的残疾程度是做出这一决定的关键因素，但实际上，家长自身的社会阶层是唯一与他们的观点有统计学显著关联的变量。意见分歧源于家长们对于何种程度的残疾才算足够严重缺乏共识。
