Whose Choice Anyway

I find the inconsistency abhorrent in those MPs who vouch their support for oppressed minorities such as unemployed and disabled people, yet unthinkingly condone abortions of 'abnormal' babies (who must be the most oppressed, powerless group in society), thereby revealing that they really find disability all rather inconvenient. If any of those MPs (or the four journalists) had knowledge of disability, I cannot believe they would talk so coldly and clinically about aborting 'abnormalities'.

I do not consider myself abnormal or indeed handicapped. My only handicap is other people's attitudes.

I lead a perfectly 'normal' life with a fulfilling, enjoyable career, and is it not a sane and normal practice for someone who cannot walk to go around in a wheelchair?

Not so very long ago it wasn't thought 'normal' for women to work or for black people to be doctors, so the sooner we forget about the 'norm' in relation to disabled people the better.

Talk of aborting disabled babies to exempt them from lives of suffering stems from a simplistic misconception: disability = inability (or helplessness) = misery.

Disabled people still have intelligence, creativity, sexuality, jobs, relationships, children and of course plenty of able-bodied people are miserable. But we don't believe in 'putting them out of their misery'.

Many people with disabilities contribute far more to society than able-bodied hooligans. On what criteria are we to judge life valid? What society would dare call itself civilised if it judged 'contribution' alone?

Now David Alton's bill is going forward, I hope people will reconsider the whole issue of abortion in a much wider context, accept their responsibilities and decide for themselves that pre-birth disposal is not the answer.

In addition to the Disability Now article, we have included here apiece written by Ellen especially for this book, discussing her reactions to this campaign.

One day in September 1987 my flat-mate dragged me dripping from the shower (looking not exactly the best advert for the pro-life cause!) to watch a programme where a hot debate was taking place. David Alton and his protagonists were on one side and the opposers of the much maligned Alton Bill were on the other. I was quite struck by two aspects of the programme - first, the wisdom, sensibility and lack of aggression in David Alton's responses to the razor-sharp attacks from the opposition; second, the discussion of aborting disabled babies and the lack of a disabled representative. Having a disability myself I was not surprised at the 'invisibility' of disability - it is a common mistake to suppress our views - but the