We applaud the Special Olympics and applaud the care of people vulnerable to Covid, yet our society allows abortion of the disabled

Tuesday’s vote by the assembly to reject abortions for non-fatal disabilities has given us hope that our elected representatives do not aspire to the extreme abortion regime that pro-choice lobbyists have insisted on for Northern Ireland.
By Marion Woods
Published 4th Jun 2020, 18:27 BST
Updated 5th Jun 2020, 10:33 BST
It is hypocritical to applaud the protection of the vulnerable from Covid-19 or the Special Olympics if we do not defend unborn babies who are aborted due to disabilitiesIt is hypocritical to applaud the protection of the vulnerable from Covid-19 or the Special Olympics if we do not defend unborn babies who are aborted due to disabilities
It is hypocritical to applaud the protection of the vulnerable from Covid-19 or the Special Olympics if we do not defend unborn babies who are aborted due to disabilities

We thank Heidi Crowter for her courage in stepping forward to bring the issue of discrimination in the womb to the fore.

The statistics recorded in England and Wales give evidence to the culture of discrimination against babies diagnosed in the womb with Down Syndrome with up to 90% of foetal diagnoses resulting in termination.

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Abortions for reasons of disability are a small percentage of the total with around 2% of the annual nearly 200,000 abortions being performed under Ground E of the 1967 Abortion Act.

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

However it is important not to lose sight of the actual number of abortions that percentage represents.

In the last five years over 16,000 babies have been terminated in England and Wales and the majority of those are for non-fatal disabilities.

Every year in England and Wales babies are terminated for what are minor and correctable conditions, such as cleft lip, cleft palate and club foot.

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It is incumbent on us to learn from the evidence and stand firm against the introduction of such discrimination.

It is hypocritical of us as citizens of Northern Ireland to applaud and support the achievements of the participants of the Special Olympics if we do not first defend the rights of unborn babies with disabilities in the womb.

Both lives matter before and after birth and so we call on our local assembly to ensure that women and families who face a prenatal diagnosis of disability are supported during pregnancy and post-birth.

We have within recent months witnessed the amazing contribution of Northern Ireland citizens to ensuring the protection of our elderly and vulnerable in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Now it is time to focus on doing likewise for our unborn babies in the face of the devastating global pandemic that is abortion.

Marion Woods, Services advocate, Both Lives Matter

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Related topics:Northern IrelandEnglandWales