Fury as number of abortions of cleft-lip babies rises after new in-womb tests are offered

Aug 28, 2016 by Jill

By Rosie Taylor and Matthew Davis, Mailonline:

Abortions of babies with a minor facial deformity have nearly tripled in the past five years, official figures show.

A growing number of terminations are carried out due to a cleft palate or lip – a condition which causes a gap in the roof of the mouth, upper lip or both, but is usually easily fixed by surgery.

It is thought that increased access to tests that diagnose the condition in the womb are behind a rise in the number of parents choosing to end pregnancies.

But campaigners warn that abortions on such grounds are ‘unconscionable’ and claim that lives are being ended on the basis of appearance.

Tory MP Fiona Bruce, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, said: ‘It is deeply disturbing if these figures reflect a worrying trend in society to disproportionately value the physically perfect and beautiful.’

Read here