Celebration of international adoption of a little girl with Down syndrome goes viral

Little Ami, who is from India and has Down syndrome, has a beautiful smile and a beautiful life in store because of an American family who opened their heart and family to adoption. Ami will turn three years old this February and has enjoyed fun with her new siblings, two loving and playful big brothers. In just 10 days, a video montage of Ami’s first year with her new adoptive family garnered over 242,000 likes on Instagram. It was featured by mom Megan at @realisticplantbasedmama.

The heartwarming story has also been shared by U.S. and international media outlets.

What makes Ami’s story even more special is that she has Down syndrome. In today’s world, many mothers pregnant with a child who has a diagnosis face enormous social and medical pressure to abort their children.

READ: Mom fights for baby with life-limiting diagnosis, who is now thriving: ‘I didn’t think twice’

Abortion beyond 20 weeks gestation remains illegal in India, but the government has recently sought to change that. In 2020, a bill was presented to make abortion more permissive, including abortion for children with Down syndrome up to birth. The sex-selective abortion rate in India merely for being a girl is also very high. Sex-selective abortion is the practice of “using ultrasound or other tests to learn the sex of a fetus and terminating the pregnancy if the fetus is female,” according to Pew Research.

According to Ami’s mom Megan in the viral Instagram post, “In October 2022, we became parents to the spunkiest, silliest, most beautiful “baby” girl born in India. She is smart, has the biggest heart, and rocks an extra chromosome. She was a missing piece to our family puzzle and we are so grateful to have spent one full year together. … We could have missed this.”

The video includes Ami’s previously unshared arrival in America at the airport, her excited welcome by eager friends and relatives, and extremely adorable pictures of her happy life.  The mood is contagious as hundreds of commenters encourage Ami and her new family in their adoption journey.