42% increase in abortion for Down’s
syndrome over 10 years - likely to get worse
The most recent abortion statistics released by the
Department of Health today show a 42% increase in abortions for
Down’s syndrome since 2008.
The statistics show that there were 618 abortions for
Down’s syndrome in 2018. This now brings it to a 42% increase
in abortion for Down’s syndrome in the last ten years with
figures rising from 436 in 2008.
The statistics also show a 64% increase in abortions
after 24-weeks gestation for Down’s syndrome, up to 18 from 11
in 2017. Under the current law, abortion is allowed up to birth
if a baby has a disability including Down’s syndrome.
This is likely to be attributed to the private
availability of cfDNA testing (otherwise known as NIPT) which
has already been predicted to increase the numbers of children
with Down’s syndrome being screened out by termination. The
beginning of the roll-out of these tests on the NHS, who were
already recommending the private tests to expectant mothers,
may also be having an impact on the increasing numbers of
terminations.
This situation is set to get far worse as the Government
still intends to move ahead with proposals to implement cfDNA
testing into the Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme.
Proponents of the test have glossed over the fact that a
National Screening Committee pilot study predicts the new
screening will detect 102 more babies with Down’s syndrome
every year in England and Wales. Based on the most recent
statistics, 90% of pregnancies are aborted after the baby is
found to have Down’s syndrome, this would mean an increase of
92 abortions for Down’s syndrome annually.
That reduction equates to an overall decline of Down’s
syndrome live births by 13% and would lead to a corresponding
reduction in the number of people with the condition. Such an
outcome is likely to have a profoundly negative effect on the
community of people with Down’s Syndrome.
The Don’t Screen Us Out campaign, a coalition of Down’s
syndrome advocacy groups, are urging to delay the implementation
of the new test until there has been full consultation with the
community of people with Down’s syndrome and medical reforms
have been introduced which address the unresolved ethical
issues of screening.
Lynn Murray, spokeswoman for the Don’t Screen Us Out
campaign said:
“As a mother of a 19-year-old daughter who has Down’s
syndrome, I see every day the unique value she brings to our
family and the positive impact she has on others around
her.
It is deeply concerning that despite the leaps that
advocacy groups have made in raising awareness in support of
people with Down’s syndrome, abortion in the case of Down’s
syndrome is still so commonplace and widespread in the UK. In
fact, we hear from parents all the time how abortion was
repeatedly presented to them in the hospital as an obvious
solution following the receipt of the news that their baby had
Down’s syndrome.
With the Government set to follow through on proposals to
make private screening tests available on the NHS, projections
show that there will likely be a steep increase in the numbers
of children with Down’s syndrome screened out by termination
unless there is an immediate
intervention.
In
England and Wales, 90% of babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome
are aborted. Northern Ireland currently has a very different
approach when a baby is found to have Down’s syndrome.
Disability-selective abortion for Down’s syndrome is illegal
and there is a culture of accepting and supporting people with
disabilities rather than eliminating them.
This is reflected directly in recent official figures
showing that almost 100% of babies found to have Down’s
syndrome in Northern Ireland are born. This greatly contrasts
with the 90% termination rate for Down’s syndrome from other
parts of the UK.”
ENDS
