Women with unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome are being told to have abortions by doctors in England. Additionally, the Down syndrome diagnosis is often made later in pregnancy and the abortions are often performed after the 24-week legal limit in England.

A woman in England, in her 35th week of pregnancy was urged to have an abortion of her Down-diagnosed child, but she refused and her baby was delivered two weeks later. The mother said, “he only listed the potential negatives without giving us something to read for a more balanced view. When the midwife tried to offer some leaflets, he talked her down.”

According to statistics, sixty-two percent of Down syndrome cases are diagnosed in the womb and 92 percent of those are aborted. The National Health Service in England launched a screening program in 2003 with the test being offered to all pregnant women. At that time, there were fears that it would be used to “weed out” less than perfect babies. Those fears have proven to be true as there is now screening for genetic mutations and the Government IVF watchdog has approved embryo selection to avoid babies with inherited risks for breast cancer or bowel cancer.

The British High Court recently ruled against selectively screening embryos, in artificial reproduction, for tissue match for the treatment of born siblings. Abortions are now being done for babies with cleft palate and club feet, both conditions being common and easily corrected.

A publication in Canada reported that abortions are carried out at taxpayer expense when the reason is that parents are not satisfied with the sex of the child. Even though a new law forbids – with large penalties – sex-selection on babies conceived by in vitro fertilization, as soon as the baby is implanted in the womb, sex-selection becomes entirely legal. Evidence of the damage of sex-selection is shown in India and China where the bias is against girls, resulting in a large imbalance in the number of boys being born.

Doctors trying to avoid lawsuits and parents looking for burden-free children, as well as advances in prenatal screening, has increased the temptation to abort a disabled child. Because of society’s attitudes the right to abort a disabled child is becoming a duty. When the cost of raising a “defective child” is compared with prenatal testing, governmental agencies and health insurance companies will start counting the costs. Dr. Kenneth Vaux reported in 1974 that he had been informed that “a private health insurance company was contemplating a policy of requiring prenatal tests for all pregnant woman. If a diagnosis of congenital defect is made, insurance will be dropped. In other words, abortion will be required.”

Have we reached the era of “designer babies” when babies must qualify to be born by sex selection and other desirable qualities – appearance, intelligence, and perfect health?

Mary Anne Hackett