Attitudes toward the handicapped

Re: “Woman refused Zika test may abort baby” (NP Montreal, Feb. 2) Well into the middle of the 20th century, handicapped people were locked away in asylums. We look back on this practice as barbaric.

But our attitude toward the handicapped has not changed. We no longer hide them away, we simply throw them into the garbage before they have the chance of being born.

The Toronto couple in this article are typical of the attitude of so many in the 21st century. They would rather abort a healthy child than face the possibility of having a handicapped child. This is not enlightened behaviour. Sandra Dunn, Pierrefonds