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Oppose Eugenic Pre-Natal Screening Technique - Support People With Downs Syndrome. The battle over a new screening technique projected to increase the number of abortions of babies with Downs Syndrome continues. A couple of important updates: 1. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists are now implying that there could be eugenic reasons to introduce this screening technique i.e. it might be cheaper to use this screening technique to discover whether a child has Downs Syndrome and selectively abort the baby, than it would be to raise him or her. (See our petition page for more details) 2. Actress Sally Phillips (Miranda, Bridget Jones’s Diary), whose son has Downs Syndrome, presented the documentary A World Without Down's Syndrome? on this issue, (BBC2, 9.00 pm 05/10) Make sure you watch it on iPlayer if you missed it! The prejudice against Downs Syndrome is now well-known in the medical community. Families who have a child diagnosed with Downs Syndrome in the womb are frequently made to believe that they have no choice other than abortion. You may have already signed this petition to Jeremy Hunt (and if you haven't make sure you do!) asking him to halt this screening technique and instead provide support and information for parents whose children are diagnosed with a disability in the womb. Now you must share! Share this petition with you friends and family – help to ensure that people with Downs Syndrome are not ‘screened out’. “My son (who is now 8 years old) has Down's Syndrome, he was diagnosed in the womb at 35 weeks and I was actively encouraged to seek termination by the doctor who gave me the diagnosis. I was given no support by my local hospital in my decision to keep my baby, I had to actively seek support elsewhere and I’m sure you will appreciate how difficult this was as I was heavily pregnant and in a vulnerable state.” This testimony can be found in a 2013 Government Report on Abortion and Disability and this lady's experience is echoed throughout the report. There is little help for those who receive a foetal disability diagnosis and abortion is so often presented as the only solution. Sign this petition to Jeremy Hunt urging him to halt the implementation of a new screening technique which will see more eugenic abortions against people with Down’s Syndrome and urge him to improve the information and support for those who receive a diagnosis of foetal disability. Dear Friend, A new screening technique could lead to an informal eugenics where an estimated 13% more children with Down's Syndrome will be aborted. The number of babies with Down's Syndrome aborted is set to increase if the UK Government follows the recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC) and adopts new cfDNA (cell-free DNA) screening. Many people have abortions when they find out their child has Down's Syndrome because there is so little support and information about the condition. There appears to be an assumption deeply entrenched within the medical community appears that children with Down's Syndrome should not be born as evidenced by Parliamentary Inquiry into Abortion on the Grounds of Disability (2013) This assumption and the abortions based on disability which follow from it are profoundly discriminatory against disabled people and not something which a civilised society should encourage. Sign this petition to the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, urging him not to implement this new screening technique which will worsen an already discriminatory practice and asking him instead to improve information and support for those carrying a disabled child. http://www.citizengo.org/en/lf/33266-dont-screen-us-out-halt-discrimination-against-people-with-downs-syndrome While the screening itself is being heralded as a move to reduce the number of miscarriages associated with invasive amniocentesis, the UKNSC have glossed over the fact that their pilot study predicts cfDNA screening will detect 102 more babies with Down’s Syndrome every year, of which it is expected that 92 will be aborted.