Abortion law change will 'negatively impact' disabled people, claims Belfast mum
A Belfast mum says changing our abortion laws will have a negative impact on people with Down Syndrome.
The new legislation is due to be brought to Northern Ireland around March.
On 10 July 2019, Westminster Parliament voted in favour of an amendment to the Northern Ireland Executive Formation Bill that would liberalise abortion legalisation in Northern Ireland.
The bill, including this amendment, will take effect after 21 October if the Stormont Executive is not reinstated by then.
Nicola Woods, who's son Daniel has Down Syndrome, says that change would likely lead to a big increase in abortion for disability in Northern Ireland and would reduce the numbers of the Down Syndrome community.
In May 2012 when Nicola was about 24 weeks pregnant, her and her husband found out that Daniel had Down Syndrome.
She says medical professionals did not provide balanced information when giving an unexpected diagnosis in pregnancy.
Nicola says: “Despite the negative presentation of medical information, because of our strict abortion law here in Northern Ireland, my pregnancy with Daniel was honoured and respected by the medical staff at every appointment. In GB, routinely a Down Syndrome diagnosis is given alongside the leaflet outlining possible health conditions and available abortion slots for the week. The assumption is abortion. I’ve come into contact with other parents in GB who had to write in marker pen on the outside of their maternity file ‘do not discuss abortion - we are keeping our baby’ as it was brought up at every appointment.
Thankfully, following the diagnosis, our medical team were supportive and excited at each appointment to talk about Daniel, we even told them his name during the pregnancy - we didn’t share it with our families until he was born! This kind of approach to pregnancy diagnoses is what families want, medical staff to recognise the humanity and value of each baby, no matter how many chromosomes.
"People are deluded if they think the proposed changes won’t have a negative impact on the Down Syndrome community here in Northern Ireland. Over 90% of antenatal diagnoses in GB are aborted yet almost no babies are here in Northern Ireland. 52 babies with Down Syndrome were born in Northern Ireland in 2016. In the same year, only one baby with Down Syndrome from Northern Ireland was aborted (in England/Wales).
"We live in the safest place to be diagnosed with a disability. If the Government’s legislation comes into effect, it would allow babies with Down Syndrome to be aborted up to 28 weeks simply because they have a disability. This would likely lead to a big increase in abortion for disability in Northern Ireland and would reduce the numbers of the Down Syndrome community.
"People with Down Syndrome aren’t stupid. They understand that the screening and abortion statistics around Down Syndrome, and other disabilities, implies their lives are not worth living and the absolute opposite is the case."
It follows Thursdays High Court ruling, which found Northern Ireland's strict abortion law breaches the UK's human rights commitments.