Of all of the defensive shields that Sarah Palin throws up THIS might be the most pathetic.

Reactions to Sarah Palin’s decision to resign the governorship of Alaska have been a reminder of her unmatched ability to elicit strong emotions from friend and foe alike. We know some of the reasons why. It’s her evangelical Christianity and her folksy manner. It’s her small-town roots and her “new feminism.”

But there is something more. A year ago, Palin gave birth to her youngest son, Trig, who has Down syndrome. Since then, mother and son have become objects of the left’s unrelenting scorn and the right’s unflinching fidelity.

An underexamined reason why Palin is loved and loathed so fiercely is her intimate association with two of our most divisive issues: disability and the right to life.

In her resignation statement, Palin suggested her decision was due in part to her family’s reaction to personal attacks against Trig. Those comments stoked the rage of the Palin-haters. At Talking Points Memo, an article sarcastically suggested that Palin resigned because “she wants to spread Down syndrome ... because Down syndrome is just too cute to be reserved for one in 800 births.” (I would suggest that this was a snarky reaction to Sarah Palin's remark that there "should be more Trig's in the world" during her resignation speech. It is not very tasteful but also not an attack on little Trig.)

A Paliban Daily article titled “Sarah Palin’s Retarded Platform: More Trigs!” interpreted Palin’s outspokenness on disability rights as a political ploy to win votes. Other articles contained subtle but unmistakable eugenic overtones. (This is just ugly and uncalled for. There is no way I would condone this type of attack. I work in the mental health field and do not even let kids call each other "retards".)

Besides these two examples I believe you would be hard pressed to find any of us on the left supposedly attacking Sarah Palin for "giving birth" to a Down Syndrome baby.

However the facts are that Palin has constantly used Trig , as well as her daughters, to deflect criticism at every turn.

Question why she charged the state to fly her children to events that they were not invited to and you are accused of "attacking her family".

Question why she charged the RNC to buy hundreds of thousands of dollars in new clothes and she brings up buying the children underwear. "Do you expect them to wear the same underwear for the entire campaign?"

Question whether or not she is the actual mother of little Trig and you are attacking a Down Syndrome child, and of course forcing her to confess that her teenage daughter was knocked up. How else could could she have put those questions to rest?

As the only Alaskan progressive blogger who has talked about Trig and Sarah's phantom pregnancy I will say that I want NOTHING but the best for Trig Palin and the rest of the Palin family. Personally I do not think that Trig received the care that he desperately needed for his condition during the campaign and I was heartbroken to see him trotted out on stage night after night in front of bright lights and screaming audience members. How disorienting and frightening that must have been for him.

I believe that Trig is probably deaf, and has horrible eyesight (both of which are common in Down's babies), and is developmentally further behind then he would have been if his mother, whoever she may be, was focused on his needs above all others.

And believe me I have worked with a number of Down's children, and have talked extensively with several nurses, and we are all in agreement that he is suffering due to lack of care during the critical first few months of his young life. Those problems could very well last his entire life and they were preventable.

Which makes me all the more irritated by people who spout garbage like this:

First of all, I am not saying that Trig is the only reason they hate Sarah Palin. But I will say that it is the reason they hate her with such venom - the likes of which we have NEVER EVER seen directed at a mother in our culture.

Trig - because he was thrust into the spotlight - is much more than a baby with Down syndrome. He is a symbol of a woman's right to choose LIFE - no matter how inconvenient or costly. They hate Sarah because she chose something they would not choose.

Trig also represents FAITH in God rather than faith in government.

He represents HOPE and CHANGE in the lives of individual families - brought about by God rather than a power-hungry president and his regime.

Trig also represents the reality of what feminists have been fighting for all along - that a woman can be a devoted mother and not be impeded in handling great responsibility. Through Trig - and her choice too bear him - Sarah is revealed as a person whose heart is larger than the puny hearts of her detractors.

So they hate Trig for existing - because his existence should point to good qualities about his mother, should soften the attacks.

The author of those comments claims to be the mother of TWELVE children and yet she cannot see how callously Palin used this baby to further her own agenda.

I did not criticize Sarah Palin BECAUSE she was the mother of a Down Syndrome child. I criticized her because of how horribly she treated that baby. And I was further upset by the possibility that the baby WAS NOT EVEN HERS!

You see to me Trig Palin is not a symbol. To me Trig Palin is a child. A child who has been treated like a prop and not a person. A child who has needs that clearly have not been met. A child who may STILL not be receiving the kind of medical and therapeutic attention that he desperately needs.

I have lived my whole life taking care of children. I have rescued dozens of children from horrible circumstances and I could no more turn my back on a child in need than I could stop breathing oxygen.

So I will continue to pursue the babygate story. And trust that it is not because I "hate Trig Palin", it is because I want to know the truth and I believe that in the end it may end up saving Trig Palin.