Australian state sees tripling of DS-related abortions
July 29th, 2010From the Melbourne, Australia, Herald Sun:
Health Department officials in the Australian state of Victoria report that the number of women who terminated their pregnancies after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome almost tripled in the decade ending in 2006.
Government figures showed 146 abortions for Down syndrome in 2006, including five late term abortions, compared with 54 in 1995.
They also show more than twice as many babies with Down syndrome were aborted than were born with the condition — in 2006 146 were terminated and 62 were born.
A spokeswoman for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists attributed the increase to more advanced screening.
Related story:
Two couples suing doctors for failing to diagnose Down syndrome — Melbourne, Australia, Herald-Sun
Two Victorian couples are suing doctors for failing to diagnose Down Syndrome in their unborn babies, denying them the chance to terminate the pregnancies.
The couples are claiming unspecified damages for economic loss, continuing costs of care of the children, and “psychiatric injury”.
Both say they would have aborted their pregnancies had they been told their children would be born with Down Syndrome.
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August 1st, 2010 at 8:23 am
These lawsuits should be thrown out. The parents should have done research on their own and figured out that the ultrasound is a screening, not a diagnostic test. Bottom line: they want $ to pay for their child. I am so sick of the medical community being blamed for parents who are just plain stupid and didn’t do the research themselves. It time to stop treating doctors like they are know it alls because they make mistakes just like “regular people”. I blamed my doctors for a while but guess what, i got over it and am so happy to have my daughter. Maybe these parents should work with their child more so she is more independent and not spend their free time suing doctors.