Jeff and Sonia McGarrity, parents of eight beautiful children, adopted three daughters with Down’s syndrome after being inspired by raising their Down’s syndrome son, Jeffrey.

The McGarrity family includes four children with Down’s syndrome. When the parents first learnt of Jeffrey’s condition, they were not perturbed.

“For some people, this is devastating news, but it really wasn’t for us”, said Jeff, the father. Raising Jeffrey was an inspirational and life-changing experience for the family.

“One thing that struck our hearts was to learn about Down’s syndrome”, said Sonia.

After the birth of another son, as well as, tragically, two miscarriages, the McGarritys investigated the possibility of adopting a child with Down’s syndrome.

As Sonia recalls: “I contacted the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network to ask if it was crazy to be a parent of a child with Down syndrome who also wants to adopt a child with Down syndrome… The woman on the other end of the line said, ‘I have four children with Down syndrome’, and I was like, ‘Ok, I guess I’m not crazy’.”

Starting in 2010, Jeff and Sonia adopted three daughters with Down’s syndrome: Cecilia in 2010, Rose Marie in 2015 and Charlotte in 2018. During this time, Sonia also gave birth to a son named Augustine.

They are “little love machines”, says their joyful parents.

Jeff’s and Sonia’s lives have been transformed in a positive way by their first-hand experience of Down’s syndrome. They now work to put parents with Down’s syndrome children at ease, providing information and relating their own experience.

“Our goal has always been to say, ‘If you are a birth parent and you have a prenatal diagnosis, come and meet our family. Come and see what life is like,’” Sonia said. “Because there is this sort of unknown with a stigma attached, and what doctors are telling you, that makes it difficult to decide whether to parent or write an adoption plan.”

The couple also offers to adopt Down’s syndrome babies in cases when an abortion is being considered.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “The McGarritys are truly inspiring. Jeff and Sonia provide us with a loving example of how we should view and treat children with Down’s syndrome. Each child, and indeed every adult, with Down’s syndrome is worthy of life, and is a joy deserving love, not derision or abortion. 

“It is so important that we push back against negative, thoughtless and ill-informed societal views about Down’s syndrome – such as the offensive views recently expressed by Richard Dawkins, who said it is “wise and sensible” to abort a baby with Down’s syndrome.

“Many parents come up against a wall of negativity when their unborn child receives a Down’s syndrome diagnosis. And it is often the case that doctors will repeatedly suggest an abortion.

“Last month, SPUC reported on Down Syndrome Diary, a book containing the positive stories of 26 families raising Down’s syndrome children.

“It is often the case that Down’s syndrome children help engender a new, much more positive, outlook on life that can be truly transforming.

“The Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx, for example, whose sister, DeOndra, had Down’s syndrome, recently paid tribute to his sister as a ‘gift’ who helped him revaluate life: ‘Sometimes we get caught up in our world on the extras of everything — Ah, the Mercedes is not the right color! And then you see this girl over here… I just want to live. I want to dance. I want to love. She brings you back down to what life is.’”

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