Calls Grow for Scottish Government to Protect Unborn Babies with Down’s Syndrome
Don’t Screen Us Out, a group of over 17,000 people with Down’s syndrome, their families, and supporters, has appealed to the Scottish Government to reform abortion legislation and better protect babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome in the womb.
The group is calling for an end to the practice that currently allows the abortion of babies with Down’s syndrome up to birth, and which is permitted under existing legislation.
There has been a 15% increase in the number of abortions of babies with Down’s syndrome, as revealed in a recent press release, from 33 in 2021 to 60 in 2024 – an 82% increase.
Statistics published by Public Health Scotland also show a 26% increase in abortions where the baby was diagnosed with a disability – rising from 222 cases in 2021 to 280 in 2024.
Last year, Sir Liam Fox MP proposed a new clause to the Criminal Justice Bill aimed at preventing terminations in England and Wales beyond 24 weeks when the only risk is a diagnosis of Down’s syndrome. The amendment gained the support of 76 MPs. However, with the announcement of a General Election, the House of Commons did not have the opportunity to consider it.
A renewed call for legislative reform followed a high-profile legal challenge by Heidi Crowter, a 29-year-old woman with Down’s syndrome, and Máire Lea-Wilson, the mother of a son with Down’s syndrome who was pressured to have a termination following a 34-week scan. The pair argued that the current law permitting abortion up to birth for babies with disabilities is discriminatory. However, the courts ruled that there was no evidence of discrimination, and the case was ultimately dismissed.
Several organisations have expressed concern about the current legislation. The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended that the UK Government review its laws to avoid singling out babies with disabilities – a recommendation that the Government has so far ignored.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (formerly the Disability Rights Commission) has stated that this aspect of the Abortion Act 1967 reinforces negative stereotypes of disability and undermines the principle that disabled and non-disabled people should be treated equally under the law.
A Parliamentary Inquiry into Abortion for Disability in 2013 concluded that the current law affects public attitudes towards disability and discrimination and recommended repealing Section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act, which permits termination of pregnancy on the grounds of disability.
In 2017, Lord Shinkwin, a peer living with brittle bone disease, introduced a Bill to make provision for disability equality in respect of abortions. The Bill was blocked from becoming a law after seven peers spoke against it at the Report Stage.
“What I don’t understand,” said Lord Shinkwin, “is how I can be considered good enough after birth for the Prime Minister and the Queen to send me to the House of Lords, but before birth, I’m deemed only good enough for the incinerator.”
The introduction of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) by NHS Scotland is also having a notable impact. According to The Sunday Times, hospitals that implemented NIPT reported a 30% decrease in the number of babies born with Down’s syndrome.
The actual number of abortions involving babies with Down’s syndrome or other disabilities is likely to be higher than official figures suggest, due to underreporting. This was confirmed in a 2014 review by the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Don’t Screen Us Out campaign has also urged the Government to review the impact of NIPT on the rising number of abortions following diagnosis of Down’s syndrome.
“They then need to urgently introduce medical reforms to our screening programme to ensure that this deeply disturbing increase in the number of abortions for disabilities is reversed,” said Lynn Murray, spokesperson for Don’t Screen Us Out.