‘It’s Me or the Baby’: Man Chooses Son With Down Syndrome After Wife After She Abandons the Baby

Photo Credit: KTLABy Tracy Bloom. A New Zealand father whose wife abandoned their infant son because he was born with Down syndrome has decided to raise the child as a single dad, according to a report and a fundraising page.

Leo Forrest was born in Armenia on Jan. 21, 2015, much to the delight of his father, Samuel Forrest. He stated that regardless of the genetic condition, he considered his son to be “perfect.”

“They took me in (to) see him and I looked at this guy and I said, ‘he’s beautiful — he’s perfect and I’m absolutely keeping him,’” he said upon seeing his child for the first time, according to Boston television station WCVB.

His wife, however, had “refused to even look at or touch the newborn,” a GoFundMe fundraising page set up to support Forrest and his baby stated. The Armenian woman was afraid “of getting attached in a society where defects are not accepted, often bringing shame on the family involved,” according to the page.

A short time after Leo’s birth, the mother and her family abandoned the baby. What’s more, they told him he would be no longer welcome in their home if he decided to keep the baby. (Read more about the man choosing his son with Down Syndrome HERE)

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Head of Tampa Down Syndrome Charity Embezzled $100,000 For Personal Use

By Mike Brassfield. Every October for 10 years, the Down Syndrome Network of Tampa Bay held a “Buddy Walk,” a fundraiser in a local park featuring a mile-long walk, games, clowns, giveaways, food and raffles. It raised tens of thousands of dollars — purportedly to fund programs for children with Down syndrome.

But last October, the Buddy Walk was canceled.

“We have had a problem with our nonprofit status,” the charity’s website announced. “This event is near and dear to our hearts, but is not possible this year.”

The unspoken reason: The charity’s founder and president was being investigated by police and was facing hard questions from some of the group’s members.

On Friday, she was arrested on charges that she embezzled more than $100,000 in charitable donations for her own use. Shirley Lawyer, 53, of Largo was charged with grand theft and was booked into the Pinellas County Jail. (Read more from this story HERE)

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