An Interesting Observation

For many years, I've noticed that it seems like pastors have an inordinate number of special needs children; kids with Down's Syndrome in particular.  Of course when we observe something like that, we try to make sense of it in whatever our own worldview might be.

My worldview told me back then that the reason pastors had more kids with developmental disorders was because God knew those kids would need someone special to look after them.  Of course, there are a few theological problems with this, but none so serious that they overcome a worldview.

Then, not so long ago, a bit of reality hit me.  It has no less theological significance than my older view, and maybe more. It is tragically so much more simple than I originally thought:  The reasons pastors seem to have more kids with special needs is, they are members of a group who won't choose to kill those kids in utero when they find out they are sick.

Yes, I know that sounds crass, but I really think it is a better explanation of the observed phenomenon.  And it begs a couple questions.  First, why only pastors?  Why don't believers in general have more kids with special needs than the secular, non-religious culture, especially considering that having those kids means what it means?  I read recently that 95% of all Down's Syndrome pregnancies end in abortion now.  This can only mean one of two things...either God isn't giving believers kids with special needs, or believers (since there is far more than 5% of the population who are believers) are aborting these kids at a rate similar to secular society. 

Now certainly my observations do not a law make.  Just because I've seen this doesn't make it reality; I am well aware that conjectural and anecdotal evidence are quite a distance from real empirical science.  But the numbers don't lie. Something is up, something more than the simple tragedy of abortion.  No wonder Christians can't stop it, if they are some of the ones practicing it.