Only four babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome before birth were born in Denmark last year, a Danish official has revealed.
Carsten Søndergaard, Denmark’s ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, quoted the figure after pro-life advocate Liz McDermott raised Denmark’s high abortion rate during a parliamentary hearing.
Despite the tiny number, Søndergaard claimed the country is not seeking to eradicate people with Down’s.
Eradication
In response to McDermott’s remarks, Søndergaard confirmed that there were “four children born in Denmark with Down’s syndrome after prenatal diagnosis” last year.
He claimed that “it is not the policy of the Danish health authorities to eradicate Down’s syndrome”.
Abortion is allowed for any reason up to 12 weeks in Denmark.
However, it is possible to have an abortion after the 12th week if it is believed that the baby will be born with Down’s syndrome.
Screening
In Iceland, a report released earlier this year found that the use of genetic screening has led to almost 100 per cent of babies diagnosed with Down’s syndrome being aborted in the country.
CBS News visited the country to investigate the high abortion rate.
One abortionist told them they do not see abortion as murder, just “a thing that we ended”. The news outlet also spoke with a woman with Down’s who is living a full and healthy life.
She said people “just see Down’s. They don’t see me”, adding: “It doesn’t feel good. I want people to see that I am just like everybody else.”