As the mother of a child who struggled to survive- a child who brought light to everyone who crossed his path in his short time on earth, I find it appalling that Sarah Palin could use her decision to carry the pregnancy of her special needs son as proof of the depth of her anti-abortion stance.

Rather than congratulating herself on her morality, she should be doing everything in her power to make life better for her son and children like him.

"To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters.

I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House."

is the message she proclaimed at the RNC, but when you look at McCain's record on healthcare- voting against the children's healthcare bill and mocking the healthcare reform proposed by Obama- where does this woman's advocacy come in? What have the Republicans done to promote research on genetic and congenital diseases (scratch that- what non-military research has this current administration funded period?)

I have lived the life of a Special Needs Mom.  We don't need an advocate who is patting herself on the back and promising empathy. In the halls of the PICU, at the funerals of my friends' children, I have plenty of empathy. We need a candidate who will fund the research to make sure our children are living the best lives possible, that when we are spending months on end at our children's  bedsides, we will know that our bills will be paid. We also want to know that if anything should happen to us, that our children will be taken care of. Who will take care of Sarah Palin's son when she is no longer able? Will her opposition to all non-market driven social programs extend to her son, who's hopes of living independently are slim?

It's hard for me to ponder these questions as it is such an emotionally charged issue for me. I found out about Seamus' heart condiditon in-utero and knew that the odds were good that I would outlive my son. I knew going into it that keeping Seamus alive would be a struggle. As a Pro-Choice woman, I never considered abortion, even knowing what both Seamus and I were facing. My decision to have Seamus, and later to intervene surgically were not difficult for Bruce or me, but I know many women who have struggled with the knowledge  of their child's suffering and wondered whether it was fair to put them through it. While none of them made the decision to abort, in my travels through the difficult world of childhood illness, I have met several families who chose to allow their children to live as long as they could without surgical intervention. For some, their children's lives lasted days, others merely minutes. As someone who fought for every second I had with my son, I can't always relate to their decision, but I cannot diminish the struggle that brought them to it.

While the road Sarah Palin is on with her son promises to be difficult, I have faith that she will find joy in the amazing ways her son is unique. With that said, her refusal to accept that these children need real help on many levels show that her priorities do not lie with Special Needs Families.