Down Syndrome: An Endangered Species

Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, is the only medical condition in Canada subject to a national screening plan. According to many experts, 95% of fetuses with detected Down syndrome have been aborted since the introduction of the government plan in 2010. The Canadian Down Syndrome Society has even applied to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—the organization that manages the Red List of Threatened Species—to have people with Down syndrome become the first humans to ever be included on the list.

Éli Laliberté, a documentary filmmaker and father to a 19-year-old son with Down syndrome, is on a quest to teach people about the world of those with Down syndrome. To intimately spend time with them in order to show as many people as possible what Down syndrome is really like, and to share their greatest contributions to humanity. In addition to discovering fascinating people with Down syndrome, this documentary film will make viewers think about the value of human life and suck them into a complex debate without a simple answer.