Attempt to end abortion discrimination against disabled babies

Jun 2, 2016 by

from SPUC:

A bill has been introduced in the House of Lords which seeks to end the abortion up to birth of disabled babies.

Lord Shinkwin, the Conservative peer, who is himself disabled, introduced a bill on the subject on Wednesday after being drawn 12th in the private members’ ballot.

Under the 1967 Abortion Act, abortion is currently permitted at any stage of pregnancy if two doctors give the opinion that “there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped”.

“Legal and lethal discrimination”

Lord Shinkwin’s Abortion (Disability Equality) Bill proposes to strike that condition from the law, so that the UK’s abortion law would no longer make any reference to disability.

Introducing his bill, Lord Shinkwin said: “Discrimination on the grounds of disability after birth is outlawed. Yet today legal and lethal discrimination on the grounds of disability is allowed up to birth by law.”

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