1,800 people with Down Syndrome and their families call on Boris Johnson to not introduce abortion up to birth for Down Syndrome to Northern Ireland
Over 1,800 people with Down Syndrome and their families have signed a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to clarify that disability-selective abortion for Down Syndrome will not be introduced to Northern Ireland.
This coincides with the release of 2018’s abortion statistics from the Department of Health in England and Wales. The shocking statistics revealed that there were 3,269 disability-selective abortions in 2018 and 618 of these were for Down’s syndrome. This represents a 42% increase in abortion for Down’s syndrome in the last ten years with figures rising from 436 in 2008. In the UK, around 90% of babies with the condition are aborted in the womb (Fiona Bruce MP Inquiry). Babies with the condition can be aborted right through to full-term, with mothers in the UK speaking out about being repeatedly offered abortion for the condition. Mum Cheryl Bilsborrow recently told the UK press, The nurse reminded me I could have a termination right up to 40 weeks if the baby had Down’s.”
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has consistently criticised countries which have legalised disability-selective abortions, reports Don't Screen Us Out. In some countires, such as Iceland and Denmark, a culture of abortion on the basis of disability has led to a sky-rocketing abortion rate for babies found to have down syndrome, with the abortion rate close to 100% for the condition.
Dozens of families who have signed the letter have shared photos of their children with Down Syndrome on social media to help send a powerful message to Boris Johnson.
In February, the Government released a consultation on proposed abortion regulations for Northern Ireland. The consultation document outlined that abortion will be available on demand for any reason, which will include conditions such as Down Syndrome, with no indication that babies with the condition will have any legal protection whatsoever.
The consultation also states that abortion will also be available through to either 22 or 24 weeks on ‘mental health’ grounds. This will likely in practice allow for abortion on request for any reason, which will include prenatal conditions such as Down Syndrome.
It will also be available through to birth for ‘fetal abnormality’ providing that ‘the fetus if born would suffer a severe impairment, including a mental or physical disability which is likely to significantly limit either the length or quality of the child’s life’.
In England and Wales, the Abortion Act outlines restrictive wording – ‘that there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped’ – which is similar, but in practice this has allowed for abortion for conditions including Down Syndrome, cleft lip and club foot right through to birth. So it is likely that under the proposed wording in the framework, without a clear provision stating otherwise, abortion will be available in practice through to birth for Down Syndrome.
Currently, in Northern Ireland, disability-selective abortion for Down Syndrome is not allowed and therefore, extremely rare. Figures from the Department of Health in Northern Ireland show that while 52 children with Down Syndrome were born in 2016, in the same year only one child from Northern Ireland with Down Syndrome was aborted in England and Wales. This stands in striking contrast to in England and Wales, where around 9 in 10 mothers have abortions in cases where their unborn child is likely to have Down Syndrome.
Lord Shinkwin, an advocate for disability equality, has also previously strongly denounced the plans to introduce disability-selective abortion to Northern Ireland, and noted that currently, “Northern Ireland is the safest place in the United Kingdom to be diagnosed with a disability”.
Lord Shinkwin said that changing the law to allow abortion on grounds of disability in Northern Ireland sends a message to the people of Northern Ireland and to the disabled citizens of Northern Ireland that people who are born with a disability “are better off dead”.
Nicola Woods from Belfast, who has seven-year old son with Down Syndrome, told the Belfast Telegraph: “Daniel himself is a delight. He lives in the moment, doesn’t worry about mistakes he made last week or something difficult happening in the future. His joy in the simple things of life has radiated to all those around him.
“People are deluded if they think this won’t have a negative impact on the Down Syndrome community here in Northern Ireland when it is the safest place to be diagnosed with a disability.
“We in Northern Ireland should be left to make our own decisions about abortion law.
“People are keen to advocate for equality once babies are born, but not for the unborn child with a disability. Unborn children with disabilities are most vulnerable before they are born, where screening and abortion is the norm. Northern Ireland protects them and we want it to stay that way.”
Lynn Murray, spokesperson for Don’t Screen Us Out, said: “We are calling on the Government to urgently clarify that they will not introduce abortion for Down Syndrome to Northern Ireland. All that is required is for the Government to commit to add a simple provision to the abortion framework that will clearly outline that abortion for Down’s syndrome will explicitly not be allowed.
“The Government were not required by Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 to introduce abortion for Down’s syndrome to Northern Ireland. Sadly it appears that they have decided to go further than they are required to do by the Act and have opted to introduce abortion for Down Syndrome to Northern Ireland in their proposed legal framework.
“The proposed framework would likely lead to a big increase in abortion for congenital conditions detected pre-birth in Northern Ireland, and would reduce the numbers of our already very small community. This would have a devastating impact on the community of people with Down Syndrome in Northern Ireland.
“Our attitude towards people with disabilities has changed and our laws must reflect that.”
To sign the letter see: https://dontscreenusout.org/boris/