Heidi Crowter says the current legislation discriminates against people with disabilities. It allows abortion up to birth if the foetus has a condition such as Down syndrome.

"I am taking this case to Strasbourg because it is downright discrimination that people with disabilities are treated differently," she says.

Crowter, a 27-year-old mother, has been actively campaigning against the legislation on social media to no avail.

She is preparing to appeal to the ECHR this week because England's Supreme Court refused to hear her case.

Crowter has campaigned for a law change since 2018. It was then she joined a legal challenge brought by a mother whose son has Down syndrome.

She argues the law's message is that people with disabilities are not valued equally and that it violates their human rights.

"In 2023, we live in a society where disabled people are valued equally after birth but not in the womb," she says.

The UK government defends the law as a balance between women's and unborn children's rights.

Abortion is a personal choice and women should have access to safe and legal services, the government argues.

The Court of Appeal ruled last November that the law was not unlawful and did not interfere with the rights of those who live with disabilities.

Growing support for Crowter

Disability-rights groups and pro-life organisations support Crowter's case.

Ross Hendry, CEO of CARE, a Christian charity that advocates for life issues, has this to say:

"It is completely wrong that disability is a ground for abortion up to birth. Would we accept a law allowing babies to be aborted to term based on their sex, or their race? The current approach sends a message that the lives of people with disabilities are worth less than others."

Lynn Murray, spokesperson for Don't Screen Us Out has a daughter with Down syndrome.

"It's inspiring to see that Heidi is now going to be taking her landmark case all the way to ... Strasbourg. As a mother of a 23-year-old daughter who has Down syndrome, I see every day the unique value she brings to our family and the positive impact she has on others around her."

Increasing statistics

There were 3,370 disability-selective abortions in 2021 - a nine percent increase from 3,083 in 2020.

Late-term abortions at 24 weeks' gestation or over where the baby had a disability increased by 20 percent from 229 to 274.

The law

In England, Wales and Scotland, there is a general 24-week time limit for abortion.

If the baby has a disability, including Down syndrome, cleft lip or a club foot, abortion is a egal right up to birth.

If Crowter wins her case at the ECHR in Strasbourg, it could have implications for all 46 Council of Europe countries as they are bound by its rulings.

Crowter hopes her case will inspire others to stand up for their human rights and dignity.

The ECHR decision is expected to be issued sometime in 2023.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

My daughter Josie has Down syndrome and attends a therapy centre where she works on her speech and her fine and gross motor skills.

She loves being pushed on a swing there by her favourite therapist, Ms Lani.

So it only makes sense that when my daughter plays with her Barbie dolls, she re-enacts her favourite moments at the therapy centre with her new therapy swing and an Anna doll (from the film "Frozen") representing Ms Lani—Anna and Lani share the same ginger hair colour.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the doll my daughter uses to represent herself could reflect her own unique features, including a shorter stature, a flat nasal bridge and beautiful almond-shaped eyes?

This will soon be possible because Mattel has released a new Barbie doll with Down syndrome.

Mattel worked with the National Down Syndrome Society to ensure that the new doll would accurately represent the members of this community.

"It was an honour working with Barbie on the Barbie doll with Down syndrome," Kandi Pickard, the president and C.E.O. of N.D.S.S., said.

"This means so much for our community, who for the first time, can play with a Barbie doll that looks like them."

Our family is unique in that it encompasses two generations of Down syndrome.

My sister, Leanne, was born in 1977.

She required life-saving surgery to survive.

My parents were offered the option to forgo the surgery, forget about this ailing child and try again for a healthy child.

As a devout Catholic, my mother rejected this notion.

This was her baby, made in God's image.

Leanne was a blessing—one for whom she was incredibly grateful and committed to nurturing with every fibre of her being.

Growing up with my sister was such a positive experience for me that when it came time for me to start a family, I truly wanted to adopt a baby with Down syndrome.

That dream was realized in 2010.

The 33-year age difference between my sister and my daughter brought many beneficial changes in resources and attitudes toward the Down syndrome population.

I'll never forget my mom marvelling at how much more access my daughter had to therapists, adaptive equipment, educators and medical professionals who were committed to promoting her development.

When my daughter was fitted with her first pair of orthotics, braces designed to correct her pronation and stabilise her foot and ankle, my mom reminisced about how they attempted to achieve the same result with Leanne by having her sleep in high-top shoes tied together.

Orthotics are an accessory featured on the new Barbie with Down syndrome, another testimony to the progress achieved within the last 30 years.

What was not accessible to my sister then is now present on the Barbie!

The doll's dress features butterflies in yellow and blue print—symbols and colours associated with Down syndrome awareness.

The doll wears a necklace with a pendant featuring three chevrons, designed to symbolize the three copies of the 21st chromosome that causes Down syndrome, hence its name, Trisomy 21. Continue reading

• Elizabeth Newton is an advocate, writer, and speaker. She writes on ConfessionsoftheChromosomallyEnhanced.com

"I am Gabriel, God's messenger," 22-year old Gabriel Cobb told OSV News.

Cobb, pictured with his parents just before going into the UN New York conference hall added: "My faith is the most important part of my life. I like to attend Mass daily and proclaim loudly."

He was set to address a UN gathering of advocates for those with Down syndrome and autism. They were discussing the challenges families face when they are raising children with different developmental expectations and milestones.

"Gabriel is not a professional speaker, but somehow God thinks he has a message to share," his mother Lori Cobb told OSV News.

The family stopped by nearby St Agnes Church on the way to the UN building, she added.

"After all, I am Gabriel, God's messenger," Gabriel reiterated.

At the UN meeting, experts on Down syndrome and autism made some of the first speeches.

One spoke about "international agreements" which "reaffirmed that persons with disabilities are equal in dignity and rights.

"Governments should strive to provide social protection measures to families which are primarily responsible for the development, educational and well-being of children with autism and Down syndrome, and very often remain their main sources of social protection," she said.

Cobb's speech highlighted the role his family played in his life.

"I have two loving parents who have always kept the ball high," he told the UN.

As the Catholic triathlete spoke, a screen of photos played over his right shoulder. He explained each photo: doing chores with his father; playing piano and reading books with his mother. The books include William Shakespeare and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein."

Other photos showed him swimming, biking and running.

Then he told the UN he is a triathlon athlete, competing in races in which he has to run, swim and bike. He's a repeat triathlete too - he's competed in ten races so far.

"I have done it, I am a triathlete," he exclaimed, to loud applause.

Cobb vowed "to continue to … compete" and he thanked the "coaches, family and friends, who have encouraged me to press boundaries".

With the vow he added a prayer: "I pray that I have given them joy and inspiration, because with their help, I have Down syndrome and I have no limitations."

Source

• OSV News

In fact, there's just one in the entire world - in southern France.

There, the religious community welcomes sisters with Down syndrome to live out their vocation of contemplative prayer.

The Prioress, Mother Line, is now seeking able sisters to join them.

A ‘joining of two vocations'

Les Petites Sœurs Disciples de l'Agneau, (The Little Sisters Disciples of the Lamb) was founded by joining two vocations, Line says.

It began in 1985, when a young woman with Down syndrome — Sister Veronica — met Line. Despite her vocation, she had been turned away by several religious communities.

They began living together, hoping other young women with Down syndrome would join the community.

Line says at the time, the Church and religious communities did not understand "how a person with Down syndrome could have a call from God" to join religious life.

She had noticed, however, that the people she worked with who had Down syndrome were "very spiritually inclined."

More women with Down syndrome joined the community.

In 1999, the Little Sisters was established as an official religious institute of contemplative life.

Today, seven sisters with Down syndrome live alongside Line and Sister Florence, where they fulfil their vocations together.

A life of contemplative prayer and work

Mother Line says those with Down syndrome are "particularly inclined to the contemplative life".

The sisters have taken up the saying of St Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa): "Do small things with great love," she says.

"We follow the path of Teresa: ‘major actions are beyond our realm,'" the community's website notes.

"We will never be great theologists. Our life is very simple and without a doubt similar to the secret life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph of Nazareth."

While the Little Sisters organise each day around prayer and worship, they also are inspired by the Benedictine way of life, which balances prayer and work.

"It is very important for the Little Sisters to be kept busy," Line says.

They spend much of their time cultivating their gardens, harvesting vegetables, weaving scarves and bags and making tea from medicinal herbs, which they sell.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

It's a move that has disappointed a disability advocate, who says people with Down syndrome contribute to their communities, and not all have additional medical needs.

The 17-year-old Indian citizen, whose name is suppressed, came to New Zealand on a visitor visa in 2016 with her parents and younger sister.

In 2017, her parents and sister were granted residence, and in 2019 they were granted permanent residence. Read more

They say they weren't consulted about the storyline which is described as reflecting outdated thinking and failing to represent an inclusive society.

Association spokesperson Kim Porthouse said the organisation has received calls from a number of families and people with Down syndrome who have been upset by the episodes.

She said people who are either going through this process right now, people with Down syndrome who watched the programme, parents of children with Down syndrome are finding this aggressive forceful reaction quite inappropriate and offensive.

Porthouse said the storyline "reinforces a lot of the prejudice that having a child with Down syndrome is a burden."

In the storyline, after learning a baby might have Down syndrome father Chris Warner suggested to mother, Zoe, that she abort the pregnancy

Several characters discuss Zoe's options with her.

Her Sister Kate advocates for Zoe making her own choices.

Finn, Warner's adult son also stresses the choice is hers and that she will have support no matter what options she chooses.

But he points out "there's thousands of stories out there, mums and dads who have been exactly where you are and they've kept their baby."

In a joint statement, TVNZ and South Pacific Pictures said they acknowledge the storyline addresses a sensitive topic but Shortland Street is known for tackling a range of challenging issues that New Zealanders face.

"The show's producers work closely with medical advisors to ensure health storylines are depicted with care in the context of a drama"

Source

• radionz.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: TVNZ Screenshot

Charlotte (Charlie) Helene Fien, who is 21, wrote her speech after watching a television documentary called 'A world without Down Syndrome'.

The documentary discussed a new test that could be used to abort all babies with Down Syndrome.

"Please do not try to kill us all off. Do not allow this test," Fien said to the UN.

"If you do allow it you are no better than the Nazis who killed 200,000 disabled people. I have a right to live and so do other people like me.

"The goal is to eradicate Down Syndrome in future. This makes me angry and very sad. I have Down syndrome. I am not suffering. I am not ill.

"None of my friends who have Down Syndrome are suffering either. We all live happy lives. We go out to the pub, have dinner parties at my friend Aimee's house, have boyfriends and have plans and goals for the future!

"We just have an extra chromosome, but we are still human beings. We are human beings!

"For those who know and love somebody with the Syndrome, the plan to eradicate Down Syndrome people is is beyond appalling and has the bitter taste of Nazi eugenics."

Today, the same thing is happening, Fien said.

"In Iceland, Denmark and China not a single baby with Down Syndrome has been born for seven years."

At present, 90 per cent of all Down Syndrome pregnancies in the UK currently end in abortion.

Fien's mother says her daughter developed normally, despite gloomy predictions from doctors when she was born.

She says Fien walked at 15 months, was toilet-trained before either of he brothers (who don't have Down Syndrome), is bilingual in French and English and can read and write in both languages. Fien's father is French and her mother is English.

Source

• LifeSite
• BrightVibes
• FoxNews
• YouTube

"They were very negative in the hospital, telling us she probably wouldn't live past 21 and all these other health problems. I wanted to get out of the hospital so I could take her to church."

Samantha, who was born on the feast of Our Lady's Nativity, is now 30. Although verbal communication is limited, she has many books about Jesus, and her own rosary beads which she loves, and spends time in prayer with her parents. Prayer has been a vital support for the family.

"Samantha didn't really understand about Jimmy but she did know he went out and never came home, so for a long time if she was going anywhere she would say ‘come back' and if I was going anywhere she would say ‘mummy come back.' She won't mention his name, now.

Margaret is talking about her son, Jimmy Mizen, the 16 year old who was murdered outside a bakery in south east London the day after his birthday.

"I have always had a strong but simple faith and having Samantha seemed to seal my bond with God even more. Sometimes we let go of God at the one time we need him. That never happened to me: I just clung a bit tighter."

Today is World Down's Syndrome Day, a UN initiative launched in 2012 to recognise "the inherent dignity, worth and valuable contributions of persons with intellectual disabilities."

This is an awkward subject for British society. Our many equality laws and inclusion policies are coupled with ever-advancing techniques to screen out and kill people with Down's syndrome before they are born. Continue reading

Sources

• Catholic Herald, article by Dennis Sewell, a contributing editor of The Spectator.
• Image: ThingLink
• See also: My Feral Heart: finally, a positive portrayal of Down syndrome in MercatorNet

Worrying things. What was the matter with Edith?

'Edith doesn't really look like us,' I eventually told my mother, who knew the family.

'No, she doesn't,' agreed mum, 'and that's because she was born different from most people. But there's no need to worry; I know she's quite happy, and that her family loves her. Babies bring their love with them, and that's a fact.'

I eventually learned that Edith had Down syndrome, although that was not the term used back then.

I also learned that this syndrome is the result of an extra chromosome: Down syndrome individuals have two of chromosome 21.

One out of every 700-900 babies born world-wide will have the syndrome, and there are currently approximately 13,000 Down people in Australia.

Because of advances in medicine, life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has been increased to about 60.

I never learned what happened to Edith, but Down people at that time had a life expectancy of only about 40 years, if that.

My mum had a point: such children as I have observed in the long years since I knew Edith have been happy and loved.

One I know is now a mature woman who leads a full life, despite the indifferent health that is often part of the condition. She learned to play a mean set of drums, could beat her brothers at billiards, had a job in a supermarket, and became a guide at the Sydney Paralympics.

I was reminded of Alexandra recently, when during a short flight I sat next to Emma, who clearly had the syndrome. It was impossible to tell how old she was: I thought she might be 19 or 20.

She was accompanied by an efficient, attractive woman in her 40s, whom I took to be her mother, such was the care she bestowed on Emma. Continue reading

• Gillian Bouras is an expatriate Australian writer who has written several books, stories and articles, many of them dealing with her experiences as an Australian woman in Greece.

But Courtney Baker and her husband, despite being told their quality of life would suffer, decided to proceed with the pregnancy and gave birth to little Emersyn Faith, known fondly as Emmy, 15 months ago.

Last month Courtney wrote a letter to the doctor and together with Emmy, mailed to to him.

This is their letter:

"Dear Doctor,

A friend recently told me of when her prenatal specialist would see her child during her sonograms, he would comment, 'He's perfect.' Once her son was born with Down syndrome, she visited that same doctor. He looked at her little boy and said, 'I told you. He's perfect.'

Her story tore me apart. While I was so grateful for my friend's experience, it filled me with such sorrow because of what I should have had. I wish you would have been that doctor.

I came to you during the most difficult time in my life. I was terrified, anxious and in complete despair. I didn't know the truth yet about my baby, and that's what I desperately needed from you.

But instead of support and encouragement, you suggested we terminate our child. I told you her name, and you asked us again if we understood how low our quality of life would be with a child with Down syndrome. You suggested we reconsider our decision to continue the pregnancy.

From that first visit, we dreaded our appointments. The most difficult time in my life was made nearly unbearable because you never told me the truth.

My child was perfect.

I'm not angry. I'm not bitter. I'm really just sad. I'm sad the tiny beating hearts you see every day don't fill you with a perpetual awe. I'm sad the intricate details and the miracle of those sweet little fingers and toes, lungs and eyes and ears don't always give you pause.

I'm sad you were so very wrong to say a baby with Down syndrome would decrease our quality of life. And I'm heartbroken you might have said that to a mommy even today. But I'm mostly sad you'll never have the privilege of knowing my daughter, Emersyn. Continue reading

• Kat Abianac is a writer and a passionate advocate for inclusion in the media and advertising.

The controversy erupted after a Twitter exchange between Dawkins and a woman who said she would face a real ethical dilemma if pregnant with a baby diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Dawkins replied in a tweet: "Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice."

The tweets prompted a backlash from large numbers of people on Twitter, including pro-life activists, parents of Down syndrome children, and the occasional self-described pro-choice person who felt Dawkins went too far.

Dawkins apologised for the "frenzy", saying he intended his remark to be read only by the woman addressed, who frequented forums on his website.

However, he stood by his claim that in his view, "the moral and sensible choice would be to abort" an unborn baby with Down syndrome.

Dawkins said that his position "simply follows logically from the ordinary pro-choice stance that most of us, I presume, espouse".

He acknowledged his opinion is "contentious", but said that the choice to give birth to a child with Down syndrome "would probably be condemning yourself as a mother (or yourselves as a couple) to a lifetime of caring for an adult with the needs of a child".

"No wonder most people choose abortion when offered the choice," he said.

Down syndrome organisations said in a joint August 22 statement that they were "outraged and saddened" by Dawkins' comments, saying he "strongly argued for the elimination of people with the condition".

They stressed the need for accurate information about people who live with Down syndrome.

People with Down syndrome in the US have an average lifespan of 60 years and have benefited from "great strides" in medical care and research, the foundations said.

They are able to take advantage of educational and work opportunities.

Dawkins insisted that there is a difference in deciding on a termination before a child is born, and suggesting after the child is born that it should have been aborted.

Dawkins recently argued that some types of rape or paedophilia are worse than others, then told people who couldn't understand his logic to "go away and learn how to think".

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• The Guardian
• Christian Post
• Image: Salon.com

Surrogate mother Pattaramon Chanbua from Thailand is caring for seven-month-old Gammy after an Australian couple chose his healthy twin sister, but abandoned him.

The couple, David and Wendy Farnell, are the biological parents of the twins.

They say they did not know about Gammy, but news reports contradict this, with one having Ms Chanbua say the father had met the twins.

Other reports say when the couple found out about problems with Gammy, they asked Ms Chanbua to have an abortion, which she refused.

But the Farnells deny this.

In a strongly worded comment piece the Vatican's semi-official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano warned that other cases will follow.

The newspaper stated: "We should not be surprised that if parents have ordered a baby renting a woman's womb they will reject a child that is not healthy and perfect."

"If a child becomes a product to buy, it is obvious that as with any acquisition it must be to the purchaser's liking."

"People have no cause to be indignant that the couple refused a child that was ‘imperfect'," the article said.

"In realty there is little to be indignant about - if you accept the logic of a child a as product this is the obvious consequence."

The case has made international headlines, causing uproar in Australia.

Adding fuel to the fire are revelations that the father has child sex abuse convictions in the 1990s.

West Australian state authorities told the BBC they were now conducting a "full investigation" to assess Mr Farnell's "suitability" to have a young child in his custody.

Ms Chanbua has insisted Gammy's twin sister be returned to Thailand.

Both the Australian government and Thai health authorities are now looking into the case and the larger issue of commercial surrogacy in Thailand, which is mostly unregulated.

An online fundraising campaign so far has raised tens of thousands of dollars to help Ms Chanbua with Gammy's medical expenses.

He has a congenital heart condition and a lung infection.

Sources

• The Tablet
• The Independent
• BBC
• Daily Mail
• Image: Sydney Morning Herald

God tells everyone to treat people equally, and I think that most people act in this way.

I don't feel as if people make fun of me or make me feel bad just because I have Down syndrome.

One special thing about me is that I have Down syndrome. Down syndrome means having an extra chromosome in my body. It's the way I was born.

My parents told me that when I was born on Aug. 9, 1995, the doctor looked at my hands and eyes and confirmed that I had Down syndrome.

This was not a surprise to my mom and dad because they knew I was going to have Down syndrome. That's because of a test that had been done before I was born.

Having Down syndrome is the same as having a disability.

My teacher, Mr. Beall, talks about people having disabilities. He says that it does not matter if you have a learning difference because everyone should be treated the same.

Other people think and say I have a disability, but I don't really think of myself as having a disability because I feel I fit in with other people. Continue reading.

Source: America Magazine

Image: America Magazine

SPIEGEL: Dr. Solomon, in your book you write about Jason Kingsley, who was a child star on "Sesame Street." What's so fascinating about him?

Solomon: Jason was the first person with Down syndrome to become a public figure. His mother Emily was shocked when he was diagnosed. There were no models for how to bring up such a child. Should they institutionalize him? Should they keep him at home?

SPIEGEL: We are talking here about the 1970s …

Solomon: Yes, when early intervention was still a new idea. So she developed this scheme of constant stimulation. She had his room covered in brightly colored things. She talked to him all the time. She even gave him a bath in Jell-O, so that he could feel that texture. And he did, in fact, develop extraordinarily. He talked early, counted and was able to do a lot of things that children with Down syndrome had been thought unable to do. And so his mother went to "Sesame Street," and said, "I would like to put Jason on the program." The people at " Sesame Street," who were in many ways liberal visionaries, agreed to have him on.

SPIEGEL: Are you saying that parents can overcome such an impairment of their child if they only try hard enough?

Solomon: Yes and no. Jason did accomplish an extraordinary amount, but he also has many limitations. His mother said to me: "I made him into the highest functioning person with Down syndrome there had ever been, but I did not know that I was also setting him up for quite a lot of loneliness, because he's too high-functioning for most other people who have Down syndrome, but he's not high enough functioning to ever have an equal relationship with people who don't."

SPIEGEL: You met hundreds of families for your book: Some are dwarfs, others are schizophrenic, autistic or deaf. Still others have committed crimes or they are prodigies. Do they have something in common with Jason Kingsley?

Solomon: I think so. I wanted to find out: How do you as a parent make peace with having been given a child who is in some sense completely alien to you? With having a child who is different from everything you would have fantasized? Emily Kingsley wrote a piece called "Welcome to Holland," in which she laid out the idea that having a disabled child is as if you were planning a trip to Italy, and you ended up by mistake in Holland. It's less flashy, it's not where all your friends are going. But it has windmills, it has Rembrandts. It has many things in it that are deeply satisfying if you allow yourself to be awake to them, instead of spending the whole time wishing you were in Italy.

SPIEGEL: And the same applies to the parents of autistic children or criminal offenders?

Solomon: My fundamental idea is that there are many identities that are passed down generationally, like nationality, language, religion or the color of one's skin. But there are many times when a family is dealing with a child that's fundamentally different from anything with which the parents have had previous experience. People with Down syndrome are by and large not born to other people with Down syndrome. Continue reading

Sources

• Spiegel Online
• Image: Sheila Oettinger

But Father Thomas Vander Woude had to act fast. The mother was nearly six months pregnant and she lived in a state that prohibits abortions past six weeks.

So Father Vander Woude turned to Facebook — and got over 900 responses.

Continue reading