Writing in the [UK] Guardian, columnist Tom Shakespeare says the statistics on Down syndrome diagnoses mask the “human cost” of the UK’s prenatal screening program.

Shakespeare supports a woman’s right to choose, as well as the right to terminate a pregnancy in which Down syndrome is diagnosed. But he says scientists need to examine the high emotional price that couples are paying for prenatal testing, as when invasive tests cause the miscarriage of healthy pregnancies, or when tests pose “morally and emotionally burdensome choices” for couples.

An excerpt:

I have long felt that it is a priority to provide better information to prospective parents about what Down’s syndrome is, and the effect it has on individuals and their families … I believe as much money should be spent on information and counselling as is spent on the technology, because humans matter more than statistics and cost/impact calculations.

Shakespeare is among the developers of a website that provides information about various disabilities that can be diagnosed prenatally.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 1:16 am and is filed under abortion, commentary, Down syndrome, NOT2BEMISSED, prenatal diagnosis, selective termination. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.