As a medical officer to a centre for disabled people, I would like to support your Bill. I hope it receives the support it deserves and succeeds in curbing the widespread practice of eugenic abortions. I am dismayed at the way antenatal screening for defects such as Down's Syndrome have been accepted with a minimum of dissent from the medical profession. The concept of 'preventing' congenital defects by eliminating the patient is a barbaric practice. I hope your campaign will cause many to re-think this issue and realise that the disabled baby has as much right to life as anyone. Technology allows the baby to now be treated before birth which can only re-emphasise that the foetus is a patient and deserves our care and attention even if it is seriously ill.
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My husband and I have both been hospital doctors for nearly nine years and have quite a lot to do with patients seeking a termination. We decided over four years ago that we no longer wanted to look after these patients, although we could see the desperate social problems many of them faced. However, we came to realise that one wrong could not be removed by another. We are also concerned at the growing amount of screening being done with a view to destroy the child if it might be handicapped.
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I am a consultant concerned about the subject of abortion, which has been a source of heartache for many years. Each request forces me to search my conscience and now with this national debate I feel I cannot remain silent any longer. Yesterday I counselled a patient and many issues were crystallised as a result. We talked about alternatives. She could not tolerate adoption as the thought of 'a piece of her out there somewhere' disturbed her. Clearly it was more acceptable to destroy the child than allow someone else to raise it. I pointed out to her that her opinion was entirely self-interested as it could certainly not be in the interests of the child. We must all revolutionise our thinking. When the baby is born its constitution and status are not changed, merely its environment. It is just as dependent on the mother in the cot as it was in the womb. The only difference is that for the first time the mother has a choice as to who provides that support. That is the opportunity for choice not before.