CofE leaders are concerned that a growing number of parents who discover their child will be born with Down’s Syndrome are choosing to terminate the pregnancy, a pattern which could see such children wiped out completely. The General Synod next week will debate a call to regulate providers of non-invasive prenatal testing, a relatively new test for the condition which carries no risk of miscarriage, unlike older procedures. The Church said that women should be provided with ‘comprehensive, unbiased information’ by doctors and test providers. In a document entitled Valuing People with Down’s Syndrome, the Church warned that the test might lead to major reductions of Down’s Syndrome live births. Iceland and Denmark have screening and almost 100% termination rates. Currently there are unregulated websites offering a blood test for a few hundred pounds, with no context or information about the prospects for someone with Down's Syndrome. See also
Synod: Down's Syndrome abortions
Written by David Fletcher 02 Feb 2018Additional Info
- Pray: for people to be given the full information in a neutral way so that the Icelandic or Danish experience will not be repeated here. (Psalm 8:4,5)
- More: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/19/church-england-set-lobby-government-rising-downs-syndrome-abortions/
Tagged under