Posted on 01/16/2026 7:38:32 AM PST by Morgana
The most recent abortion statistics released by the Department of Health and Social Care today show that there were 735 abortions where a baby had Down’s syndrome in 2023, an increase of 7.3% from 2019 when there were 656.
The statistics also show there were 10 late-term abortions at 24 weeks gestation or over where the baby had Down’s syndrome for residents of England and Wales.
There were 3,205 abortions for babies with disabilities in 2023, an increase of 81 (2.59%) from 3,124 in the previous year. The number of late-term abortions at 24 weeks gestation or over where the baby had a disability was 300 in 2023 for residents of England and Wales, an increase of 44 (17.19%) from 256 in the previous year.
In 2023, 40 babies with a cleft lip or cleft palate were aborted. There were 5 late-term abortions at 24 weeks and over where a baby had a cleft lip or cleft palate for residents of England and Wales.
Under the current law, abortion is allowed up to birth if a baby has a disability including Down’s syndrome.
The abortion time limit under Section 1(1)(a) of the Abortion Act is set at 24 weeks, but for cases in which a baby is thought to have a disability, including Down’s syndrome, abortion is currently available up to birth.
Figures released on 28 March 2024 show that 87.26% of all babies prenatally diagnosed with Down’s syndrome in England and the Crown Dependencies were screened out by abortion in 2021.
The actual numbers are probably higher than reported due to underreporting of disability abortion statistics. A 2013 review showed 886 abortions for Down’s syndrome in England and Wales in 2010, but only 482 were reported in abortion statistics from the Department of Health and Social Care. The underreporting was confirmed by a 2014 Department of Health and Social Care review.
The private availability of cfDNA testing (otherwise known as NIPT) is likely already leading to an increase in the numbers of children with Down’s syndrome being screened out by termination. The rolling-out of these tests on the NHS, who were already recommending the private tests to expectant mothers, may also be having an impact on the number of terminations.
An investigation by The Sunday Times found that the number of babies born with Down’s syndrome has fallen by 30% in NHS hospitals that have introduced the new form of screening.
The figures, which were released by 26 hospital trusts in England under freedom of information laws, account for about a fifth of the hospital trusts that offer maternity services. They show that more women who have the new test go on to have abortions.
This situation is set to get worse as the Government’s evaluative implementation of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing as part of the Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme gets underway.
Polling has shown that the majority of people in England, Wales and Scotland think that disability should not be a ground for abortion at all, with only one in three people thinking it is acceptable to ban abortion for gender or race but allow it for disability.
Lynn Murray, spokesperson for the Don’t Screen Us Out campaign, said:
“As a mother of a 25-year-old daughter who has Down’s syndrome, I see every day the unique joy she brings to our family and the continuing positive impact she has on others around her.
“It is deeply alarming that despite the leaps that advocacy groups have made in raising awareness in support of people with Down’s syndrome, abortion in the case of Down’s syndrome remains so commonplace and widespread in the UK. In fact, we hear from parents all the time how abortion was repeatedly presented to them in the hospital as the solution following the receipt of the news that their baby had Down’s syndrome.
“We rightly recognise that discrimination against people with Down’s syndrome is unacceptable after birth, but our abortion law allows direct discrimination before birth.
“The Government implementation of NIPT in NHS Hospitals began on 1 June 2021 and projections show that there will likely be a steep increase in the numbers of children with Down’s syndrome screened out by termination unless there is an immediate intervention.
“In England and Wales, around 90% of babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome are aborted. This raises questions for the Government about the purpose of prenatal screening and a law which encourages this situation to occur.”
Hitler and Sanger would be proud.
Please, splain to me; what is the dif between aborting a baby because “you just aren’t ready to be a parent” and aborting a baby because they will never have any true quality of life, they will be a dependent on someone, either their family or their country, for their entire life, and their very existence is going to limit the development of their siblings? I’ve met so many people who have no problem seeing a sixteen year old slut having an abortion, because having a baby would ruin her life, but they will have a fit because a family chooses to end a pregnancy that is going to ruin their whole family’s lives, and not even giving the baby in question any expectation of a full complete life. I used to work with profoundly retarded children, it ain’t all roses and unicorns.
I have a friend who has Downs, she’s great, though she does have some physical issues. She got a job at a City Market about 7 years ago, cart girl. Then she learned how to be a checker. She was working right next to a “normal” lady who proudly told me she has been a checker for 26 years. Downs girl is now in charge of all the advert signs that hang from the ceiling in the store. 26-year checker lady is still a checker.
There is a wide range of severity of downs syndrome. One example does not represent the entire group.
How many HEALTHY babies did they kill just because they were inconvenient to mama and/or baby daddy? This is a subset of that bigger problem.
Now, will you imagine you have Down’s Syndrome and are reading this? How do you feel?
why is it okay for a 16 yr old to have a baby when she cannot get a tattoo w/o parental consent?
if your kid has a baby b4 she’s 18, the parent(s) should be legally responsible for both until the mom is 18.
It’s ridiculous.
Hopefully you are not working with those innocent people who do more in a day to simply live than you do in a year.
No shit sherlock but don't support aborting every single baby that MIGHT have Down Syndrome.
are there Freepers with down’s syndrome?
” I used to work with profoundly retarded children, it ain’t all roses and unicorns.”
First of all could you please refrain from calling that 16 year old a slut? How do you know she is? Odds are it was not another 16 year old that got her pregnant. I’ve seen too many stats that prove otherwise. One only need to watch one episode of Chris Hanson’s “to Catch a predator” to know how evil this world is.
As for the profoundly retarded children, yes I know all about them. I am currently helping a friend care for her hid after she got sick from her diabetes. She is now bed ridden. I’ll be the first to tell you that child (adult man but has a mental age of 3) is a hell cat sometimes. He is impossible, he can be an outright asshole. I’m not going to lie. Then on the other hand, he can be very loving and he has a very positive energy and he does things that just makes you laugh. Sometimes I want to take care of him just to see what he will do next because it is pure comical.
People with Down Syndrome are just that, they are people just with an extra chromosome. They can be very sweet or they can be assholes. Sometimes they can be both.
i’ve always said that being an asshole is its own reward.
I've been blessed to work with a group of DS kids in a vocational program when I was young. If we have to eliminate "useless eaters" I'd far sooner eliminate the average faculty at a modern university by that criteria. By contrast the DS kids were always cheerful and strove to work hard and well and were a joy to be around.
“There is a wide range of severity of downs syndrome. One example does not represent the entire group.”
Yes, that’s true.
I keep saying some people should get down on their knees every night and pray there is no Hell.
OMG. My youngest daughter was told to abort her son due to Downs. She and her husband refused. My grandson is now 12 and does NOT have Downs. He is doing excellant in school
I don’t make decisions for other parents. I am not a king.
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