The British Court of Appeal ruled Friday in favor of allowing the abortion of fetuses with Down syndrome until the time of birth. In England, Wales and Scotland, the law allows abortion up to the time of delivery when there is a "substantial risk." Down syndrome is included as one of those risks.
"Living disabled"
Heidi Crowter, a woman who has Down syndrome, and Marie Lea-Wilson, the mother of a child with the condition, filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Health and Social Care requesting a modification of the section of abortion legislation that considers Down syndrome to be a "substantial risk" in pregnancy, claiming that it is an example of "inequality."
British judges ruled last September that the rule was not unlawful and claim that its goal is to consider the rights of both women and the unborn. The ruling today upholds the law and asserts that it does not interfere with the rights of the "living disabled."
In rejecting the women's appeal, the justices also admitted that "The court recognises that many people with Down’s syndrome and other disabilities will be upset and offended by the fact that a diagnosis of serious disability during pregnancy is treated by the law as a justification for termination, and that they may regard it as implying that their own lives are of lesser value."
A law with offensive language
Attorney Jason Coppell, who represented Crowter and Lea-Wilson, said that the some people consider the language used in the law to be offensive.
Crowter, upon learning of the ruling, expressed her displeasure: "I am very upset that babies with Down’s syndrome can be aborted up to birth ... This tells me that I am not valued and of much less value than a person without Down’s syndrome."
The women have not ruled out taking their case to the Supreme Court. Crowter assured thatshe will continue to "fight" for her cause, considering that she has already succeeded in "inform[ing] and chang[ing] hearts and minds and chang[ing] people’s opinions about the law."
