"Good morning. My name is Charlotte Helen Fien. I'm 21 years old, and I have Down syndrome.
In 1940, the Nazis decided to get rid of all people with disabilities. Over 200,000 people were killed, including many children with Down syndrome.
Today, the same thing is happening.
A test that screens for Down syndrome is being used to eliminate—to kill—every child who has it. In Iceland, Denmark, and China, no child with Down syndrome has been born in years. Many years. The goal is to eradicate all of us in the future.
This makes me angry and sad.
I have Down syndrome, but I don't suffer. I'm not sick. None of my friends with Down syndrome are suffering. We all live happy lives.
We go to the pub. We go to parties at friends' houses. We have boyfriends and girlfriends. We have plans and goals for the future. We just have one extra chromosome. We are human beings.
We're not monsters. Don't be afraid of us. We're people with different abilities and strengths. Don't pity me. My life is great.
My goals are to find work I'm passionate about. I love golf, and I want to teach young children to play. I've been playing golf since I was six years old.
I want to live on my own one day and support myself with my work. I've traveled on my own to many places, even abroad.
Don't be afraid of me. Don't feel sorry for me. I'm just like you, except I'm different—I have one extra chromosome that hasn't stopped me from enjoying life. Please don't try to kill all of us. Don't allow this test.
If you do, you'll be no better than the Nazis who murdered 200,000 people with disabilities. I have the right to live, and so do people like me.
Thank you."
Charlotte Fien, 2017