PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Woman with Down’s syndrome’s landmark case against UK Govt over discriminatory abortion law to be heard by Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal has announced that it will be hearing a landmark case against the UK Government over...
Creating a world where people with Down’s syndrome are equally valued
latest media
our vision
We are a group of over 17,000 people with Down’s syndrome, their families and supporters who are actively working to build a United Kingdom (UK) where people with Down’s syndrome are equally valued and have an equal chance of being born.
Currently around 90% of babies found to have Down’s syndrome in the UK are aborted. This alarmingly high percentage is as a result of discriminatory legislation, policies and practice – as well as wider cultural attitudes towards life with Down’s syndrome.
our focus
We support the updating of UK legislation to ensure that babies with Down’s syndrome are not singled out by abortion law
We support a programme of medical reform to improve the delivery and quality of information and support provided to parents expecting a baby with Down’s syndrome
We highlight the negative impact that national screening programmes are having on increasing the number of babies that are screened out because they have Down’s syndrome.
We support reforms to UK legislation and policy to improve support and equality for people with Down’s syndrome and their families throughout their lives
media
The Telegraph: Down’s Syndrome people risk ‘extinction’ at the hands of science, fear and ignorance
Society doesn't do enough to show women carrying a baby with Down's that the life inside them is precious, intelligent and capable of so much. A painting hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York called The Adoration of the Christ Child. Created in the 16th...
Down’s Syndrome people risk ‘extinction’ at the hands of science, fear and ignorance
A painting hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York called The Adoration of the Christ Child. Created in the 16th century by a Flemish artist, what stands out in this sublime presentation of the Nativity is the detail of the characters standing around the...
Screened Out of Existence: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Selective Screening Policies
To view the full article in the International Journal of Disability, Community & Rehabilitation click here. Janet E. Lord Abstract The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities introduces a disability narrative into the human rights...
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Full text
Preamble The States Parties to the present Convention, Recalling the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations which recognize the inherent dignity and worth and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of...
PRESS RELEASE: Down Syndrome advocates launch ‘Don’t Screen Us Out’ campaign urging government to halt new screening proposal
PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DOWN SYNDROME ADVOCATES LAUNCH 'DON’T SCREEN US OUT' CAMPAIGN URGING GOVERNMENT TO HALT NEW SCREENING PROPOSAL The number of babies with Down Syndrome aborted is set to to increase following a decision released this morning. UK...
Philippa Taylor: A new wave of Down Syndrome babies face abortion. Test companies face higher profits
The NHS is considering introducing a new test for pregnant women that will make it much easier to detect and search out any babies with Down Syndrome (DS) or other chromosomal differences. A superficial reading of new screening recommendations suggests that...
The Guardian: Living with Down’s syndrome – ‘He’s not a list of characteristics. He’s my son’
Most women whose babies are diagnosed with Down’s syndrome end the pregnancy. But with a more accurate test on the horizon, a group of parents want to change perceptions. It was a cold February Sunday on a busy maternity ward when Caroline White found out her baby had...
The Washington Post: Down syndrome screening isn’t about public health. It’s about eliminating a group of people.
Upon delivering my first child 11 years ago, I heard the words “Down syndrome,” and my world collapsed. Visions of children sitting passively in a corner watching life go by, not participating, kept me awake those first nights as a mom. It didn’t take me long, though,...
The Market For DNA-Sequencing-Based Down Syndrome Tests Could Exceed $6 Billion
On Wednesday night the New England Journal of Medicine published a study showing that a new, DNA-sequencing based blood test provides a dramatic improvement in accuracy at screening for Down syndrome and a second, deadly disorder. That could open up a $6 billion...
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videos
It’s time our law’s caught up
with positive changes in attitudes towards people with Down’s syndrome
Heidi Crowter, a 26-year-old woman from Coventry who has Down’s syndrome, together with Máire Lea-Wilson from Brentford, West London, whose two-year-old son Aidan has Down’s syndrome, are challenging the UK Government over a disability clause in the current law which singles out babies with disabilities such as Down’s syndrome.
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