Unashamedly pro-life Down syndrome nonprofit makes global impact

In just three years, Missouri-based Down syndrome advocacy nonprofit Team Iron Will has impacted 3,000+ families in 45 states and 37 countries, envisioning “a world in which all human beings with Down syndrome are treated with respect, dignity, and love at every stage of life.”

A Christmastime surprise 

Cathy and Andrew Daub were driving around looking at Christmas lights with their family when they received a phone call with the results of a blood test to learn their eighth child’s gender. 

Cathy told Live Action News that the doctor congratulated them and shared the big news that they were expecting their seventh son. What he said next was entirely unexpected: “Now I do have to tell you something. There’s something that came back on your test.”

He told the Daubs that there was a 99% chance that their child would have Down syndrome. 

While this news understandably took time to sink in and accept, there was no question about whether the Daubs would continue the pregnancy, which was a miracle in its own right after eight miscarriages.

Cathy and Andrew had met while doing pro-life work, and they already knew the grim abortion statistics reflecting our culture’s ignorance of the blessings that come with Down syndrome.

Having fostered a culture of life within their own family, the seven older Daub siblings anticipated their new brother with wide open arms and hearts, without regard to the number of chromosomes he had. 

The ‘why’ behind Team Iron Will

In the five years since Will (affectionately nicknamed ‘Iron Will’ by his proud dad) arrived, the Daubs launched an international advocacy organization.

Team Iron Will. Why We Started. What We're Doing. Where We're Headed.

Team Iron Will’s origin story began just hours after his birth, when the on-call pediatrician told Cathy that Will would need further imaging and testing, but that none of it could be done before discharge from the hospital. Cathy would have to schedule each individual appointment. When she asked why this was the case, the doctor responded, “To be honest, we don’t see a lot of babies like this here.” 

Cathy told Live Action News:

“That was the moment when I felt the whole room close in on me. I’m holding this brand new perfect little baby and I realize, ‘This is personal now.’ I maybe knew before that the majority of children born with Down syndrome are aborted, but now I know my son doesn’t belong. 

I looked down at [Will] and promised him at that moment, when he was just a few hours old, that I would spend the rest of my life advocating for him and for people like him.” 

The global impact of Will’s story

Even though neither Cathy nor Andrew had a social media account, they decided within months to start an Instagram account “to share with the whole world what a beautiful life this is.”

In a short amount of time, Cathy said, the account “exploded.” Though at first the intent was simply to tell Will’s story, the nonprofit came about as a result of the Daubs’ experience navigating multiple medical needs and procedures that are typical for children with Down syndrome. 

While friends and family came alongside them and ensured that Will had all the medical equipment, tools, and early intervention therapies that would help him thrive, Will’s therapists communicated that many families they worked with had no such access.

The Daubs opted to hold a one-time fundraiser via social media to raise funds for their local therapy clinic to buy equipment and therapy toys for other children with Down syndrome. They raised several thousand dollars from that first fundraising drive. In 2022, Team Iron Will was formally incorporated. 

Team Iron Will has now reached over three dozen countries, and that international reach originated due to another aspect of Will’s experience of Down syndrome.

When he was eight months old, he was diagnosed with infantile spasms, an extremely rare seizure disorder that is slightly more prevalent in children with Down syndrome. Cathy told Live Action News that when they shared the news of Will’s diagnosis on social media, another mom responded “within minutes” to offer information and encouragement. Quickly, an Instagram group chat on infantile spasms was formed, and soon thereafter a mom from England reached out with questions. Then a mom from Pakistan chimed in, wondering if her child could have infantile spasms (he did).  

Team Iron Will (TIW) continues to evolve incrementally in response to the needs of the Down syndrome community. They now offer bimonthly webinars and training sessions on topics ranging from medical advocacy and guardianship to palate expansion and jaw strength to at-home therapies. This is especially helpful for families in many other countries who do not have access to the types of therapies available here in the United States. 

But that’s not all. 

Beyond webinars about different therapy options, as one example, TIW has awarded dozens of scholarships so that families in other countries can receive virtual therapy from American clinicians. Other scholarships have gone toward sending families AAC devices (augmentative and alternative communication devices, which allow nonverbal children to communicate with their families) and other equipment that insurance has denied. 

Cathy shared that TIW has forged relationships with experts in virtually every relevant field, from law to insurance regulations to speech therapy and physical therapy. 

“This is our pro-life mission now”

Cathy connected the dots between the main goal of the pro-life movement and the work Team Iron Will does every day.

“The abortion rates for children with Down syndrome are going up, not down. Five years ago when Will was born, I heard that the percentage of babies in the U.S. with Down syndrome who were aborted was in the 60s. Now, a lot of people are reporting that the rate is in the 70s. Depending on the research study, it may be as high as 74%.” 

Cathy identified the particular “targeting” of preborn children with Down syndrome, “even though there are many other conditions that are diagnosed in utero and those children are not targeted.” Babies with Down syndrome who require life-saving surgeries are also sometimes targeted for ‘passive euthanasia’ through denial of surgeries, as has notably happened in Canada. 

The Daubs say they have found "a hesitancy to come out as openly pro-life" among other Down syndrome advocacy organizations, and said they “recognized quickly that we could fill that gap. We are very boldly pro-life in all of our beliefs.” 

There’s a sense of urgency in their work, because, they said, “We know that as technology gets better at diagnosing Down syndrome earlier, more kids will be aborted, not less.”

Cathy added:

“People will say that we’ve come so far because they’re no longer institutionalizing those babies right after they’re born. That’s true and that’s beautiful, and I’m so happy that Will has access to all the things he has access to.

But still, in the back of my mind, I wonder, ‘Have we just replaced the institutions with abortion clinics?’ Most of these babies aren’t actually making it here. This is our pro-life mission now.”  

For such a time as this

Cathy acknowledged, “If you have Down syndrome, there’s no better time to be alive right now. There’s a lot of research, there’s a lot of services, there’s a lot of focus on inclusion for people with Down syndrome.” 

But on the other hand, she noted, “There’s no more dangerous time to be a person with Down syndrome in utero, because those [abortion] numbers continue to go up.” 

Team Iron Will was founded for such a time as this. Cathy concluded, “We want people to know that among Down syndrome advocacy organizations, you can always count on Team Iron Will to stand up for these children from the moment they are created.”