Just reading an article about abortions of DS babies not being properly recorded in the UK… But what upset me most was this;
“Under the Abortion Act, termination of a baby with Down’s Syndrome is legal right up to the point of delivery.”
UP UNTIL THE POINT OF DELIVERY.
I’m reeling from this discovery. I’m pro-choice and all that but… With abortions you imagine a traumatised youngster making a difficult decision at under 20 weeks… Not a heavily pregnant woman backing out last minute. In fact, the abortions this late in the pregnancy are available to woman who discover the baby has a “disability”, this is a loose term that incorporates cleft palates! Shocked to say the least.
The thing is, with Audrey not being diagnosed until she was born, I can’t really say for sure what our thoughts would have been had we known earlier… I know I would have discussed abortion as an option, simply because I would have been so scared… I also know that Ted would have been amazing and talked me around… But one thing I feel strongly about now is educating pregnant women and their partners – helping take the fear away. DS is not the end of the world. I feel like I’m repeating myself (and I probably am), but I want potential DS parents to know that they will love their little one no matter what. How can we get that message across?
I guess one way would be making DS part of “normal” society. We need everyone to brace “inclusion”. With the help of people like Hayley in the world, we are on our way;
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awesomeaudreyemily 