Disturbing figures from the Danish Central Cytogenetic Registry (DCCR) have confirmed that only 18 babies with Down’s syndrome were allowed to be born in Denmark in 2019. Michael Robinson, SPUC Director of Communications, said: “Weeding out and killing unborn children who may have a disability is a brutal and barbaric form of discrimination which has no place in a civilised society. Each human regardless of ability has a right to life.”
In 2004, Denmark became the first country in the world to introduce free prenatal Down’s syndrome screening. Since the introduction of this screening regime the number of babies born with Down’s syndrome has significantly declined.
In 2018, 22 babies in Denmark were born with Down’s syndrome. The most recent records from the DCCR have now confirmed that this figure has declined further to a mere 18 live births in 2019.
According to the Danish National Board of Health, 95% of pregnant women who discover that their unborn baby could have a chromosomal abnormality such as Down’s syndrome has an abortion.
Screening people out
SPUC’s Mr Robinson said: “The mass extermination of children with Down’s syndrome in Denmark is deeply distressing and shows just how prominent eugenics is in our society.
“During 2019, 3,394 unborn children in Britain were killed by abortion for having a disability. The UK’s current law allows unborn children who are suspected of possessing a foetal anomaly such as Down’s syndrome to be aborted until birth. As a result, the vast majority of children with Down’s syndrome are killed in the womb and never allowed a chance to live.”
UK Down’s syndrome abortion expected to soar
In August 2020, SPUC reported on warnings from disability rights groups indicating that the number of children aborted for having Down’s syndrome is expected to soar. This was due to the rollout of a new pre-natal testing programme from the Department of Health and Social Care which is looking to further expand testing programmes.
Figures published in “The Times” covering the period from 2013 (before non-invasive pre-natal testing- NIPT - was introduced in some hospitals) to 2017, show that more women who have had the new test go on to have abortions.
The 26 hospital trusts that provided NIPT saw a change in the birth rate for babies with Down’s syndrome from 1 in 956 births (0.11%) in 2013 to 1 in 1,368 (0.07%) in 2017, which is 30% drop in birth rate.
SPUC’s Mr Robinson added: “For so many families, a child with Down’s syndrome can bring much joy and love into their lives. Let us work towards building a society where each child is cherished and expecting parents are supported with love and hope.”