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I am appalled that a UNC-CH professor would make a statement about the moral obligation of a woman to have an abortion if she discoveres the fetus she is carrying has Down syndrome. Why does he feel it is his or anyone's right to play God and determine who is worthy of life and who is not? Throughout history, humans have made these horrible mistakes....skin color, a non-christian faith....now it's mental ability. Every life has a purpose. He was wrong to expound his opinion in front of impressionable students. He was wrong period.

My guess is that if Prof Harris had a child or sibling with Down Syndrome, he would not believe that abortion would be the "moral" thing to do. My brother is 23 years old and has DS. Was this hard for my parents to deal with at times? Absolutely. Would they do it again if given the opportunity? Without a doubt. He has been a joy for so many people and most definitely did not ruin my family's life, a fact Harris seems certain would happen. On another note, a biology class is not the place to state your ethical opinions, and there are other ways to foster discussion that don't include posting your personal opinions on handouts.

As I read this I looked up at a picture of my Uncle John.. we called him Jonnyboy as kids. I can't tell you how much he influenced me in life. I never knew there was anything different about him until I was 7 or 8. I enjoyed watching how friends and strangers alike reacted to his antics... he was a hoot - very funny although not able to speak any intelligible words. It was like a second language unto it's own for the family.

Anyway I was proud to have him at my college graduation and best man at my wedding.

I agree with the above poster... if you get to know someone with Down Syndrome, you'd think a whole lot different. If God could only instill in all people the honestly love and affection of a person with DS, we'd be all better off.

My family and I would like to thank Professor Albert Harris for the warm welcome we received from him during our first week relocating to the Raleigh area. What a feeling we felt reading this article in today's newspaper especially since my son, Nicholas, has Downs Syndrome. I am so disappointed in the fact an educated man would utter such an idiotic belief, and therefore; revealing his ignorance and arrogance. Who made this man the Supreme Being? Will the good professor suggest next that all unborn innocent children who will not have blonde hair and blue eyes be aborted? We can only hope the majority of the population in this area does not agree with the professors’ belief.

In addition, we would like to thank the professor for assisting us with our selection of universities to attend. A university that facilitates their system with educators having this type of opinion allows us to determine that NCU-Chapel Hill is a definite NO.

I am shocked at the reactions to this article. Not only are they completely unaware of what really happened, they are eager and willing to lash out at a dedicated professor without solid understanding of the facts.

I am a student in the embryology class. I sat through that lecture and KNOW that this reporter has not adequately represent the facts in this article. As everyone should know, all stories have more than one side. The side that this article presented fails in presenting them. Here is three facts that was neglected in the article:

First, ONLY TWO students voiced complaint against the professor out of a lecture hall of more than 100 people.

Secondly, I am a senior and have had professors voice their opinions on a variety of issues, some of which is just as controversial as abortion; some I agree with and some I didn't. But the thing that is similar with all these professors is that they all state that it is JUST THEIR OPINION, furthermore, they all ENCOURAGE discussion on the topic. ***Let me make a point that when Professor Harris made his OPINION on the topic of abortion, which by the way, was stated out of context in this article. The two student who made this ridiculous complaint did not say a word.

Lastly, Professor Harris had made it clear in his lectures that all life is valuable and it is because of this belief he enjoys teaching embryology. So for the accusation to be made that he believes that down syndrome children are less "equal" is unjustified.

Here is some points that I would also like to make from my opinion.

If you had sat through his class, you would know that he is constantly trying to educate not through a book, but also through current issues. He have always encourage discussion within the classroom.

When the statement was made, we were discussing birth defects. He was trying to teach our class about the difficult choices facing parents with children with birth defects, such as down syndrome, choices ranging from medical care, change of lifestyle, and abortion.

When he made his opinion, he never made it sound like he was advocating as to what we should do. IT WAS SIMPLY HIS OPINION. We are all adults. We know that it was an opinion; and like I mentioned before, we can either agree or disagree with it. That is OUR CHOICE.

If the two students had been so offended by his opinion, they should have said so. We, their classmates, would have also heard their opinion on the matter. AND again, we would chose whether or not to agree with what they had to say.

However, these two student did not chose this mature route of active discussion among peers. They chose to make it a controversy; one which they are the "VICTIMS" of a "BAD" professor.

Furthermore, they try to discredit a professor who has always placed his students first. (He advocated decreasing book cost, to the point that he posted entire lecture notes so that we didn't have to buy a book. He constantly tries to get funding for the embryology lab which still use slides made several DECADES ago and equipment that is far past its usefulness.) Of course, none of this was mentioned in the article.

This is beyond just simple acts of IMMATURITY. This act is harmful and it is shameful. These two students, along with the writer of this news article, owe Professor Harris and his entire class an apology. For: 1.) Disrupting our education. 2.) For undermining our ability to make decisions on our own. 3.) For intimidating us, to breech our right to speak freely on any matter of our choice. 4.) For disgracing our university, which pride itself on free thought.

I am throughly hurt by this incident. I am appalled at the immaturity of my two classmates. I am saddened by how strangers can mercilessly attack someone without fully comprehending a situation. I wish that this did not reach this point. But because it had, I hope that everyone can see this incident as what it is. Though I do not expect I would ever receive an apology. I just hope that this will not cause more damage than it already has.