Recently Iceland proudly proclaimed that the nation was eliminating Down Syndrome. Only thing, they’re not exactly ending the genetic cause of Down Syndrome. They’re terminating unborn children who possess that extra chromosome. And they’re mighty proud of it, too.

However, there’s one young woman in Britain who has some very outspoken ideas on Iceland. Her name is Charlotte Fien, and she goes by “Charlie.” At 21 years old, Charlie is an activist for people with Down Syndrome. In addition, Charlie also has a job as a golf coach, as well as an active social life and a boyfriend.

Oh, and one more thing: Charlie has Down Syndrome.

Obviously, that extra chromosome doesn’t slow Charlie down. In fact, in March she addressed the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, speaking out to defend life.

Charlie isn’t the only person with Down Syndrome who exhibits joie de vivre. Take little Sofia Sanchez, for example. She wants the world to know that Down Syndrome isn’t scary. And it didn’t scare her parents, either. They adopted her from the Ukraine, and she joined an older adopted brother. He has Down Syndrome, too.

And then there’s Rachel Grace. Last year she was accepted into college, just like millions of other young adults without that extra chromosome.

And finally, what company wouldn’t love an employee like Nathan? He works at Children’s Hospital in Boston, their first full time employee with Down Syndrome. Nathan’s enthusiasm is infectious, but he also admits that he doesn’t like paperwork. Just like the rest of us, right? Oh, and wedding bells are in Nathan’s future, too.

People with Down Syndrome are like those of us without that extra chromosome, because they also have different strengths, abilities, and personalities. But there’s one other similarity that we also share, and that’s our universal value as humans. As Charlie said in Geneva, “We just have an extra chromosome We are still human begins. Human beings. . . Don’t feel sorry for me. My life is great.”