In 2019, only 18 babies with Down syndrome were born in Denmark. According to a report cited by the Copenhagen Post, this is the lowest number of babies born with the condition since 1970 when a central registry was created to track the number of certain genetic conditions. As with many other nations encouraging deadly discrimination, Denmark does not have fewer preborn babies with Down syndrome. Sadly, the latest statistics only demonstrate that more parents are choosing to end the lives of their children with Down syndrome through abortion.
According to the Copenhagen Post, Denmark’s national healthcare began offering all pregnant mothers genetic screening in 2004. Between 2004 and 2005, the number of children born with Down syndrome was cut in half because so many more mothers opted to end their children’s lives in abortion. Since then, around 30 children with Down syndrome have been born each year in Denmark.
As shocking as these statistics are, Denmark is far behind other nations that claim they have “eliminated” Down syndrome by encouraging all mothers of babies who may have Down syndrome to end the baby’s life in abortion. Legal abortion has close ties with the eugenics movement, which falsely taught that only people deemed healthy and genetically pure had a right to live. After decades of legal abortion on demand, the abortion industry still has a close relationship with eugenics. There is no nation on Earth that has found a way to correct the genetic abnormality involved with Down syndrome, there are only some nations that have chosen to kill more preborn babies than others.
While some countries, like Iceland, brag about killing virtually all babies who may have Down syndrome, news of the latest numbers in Denmark included the perspective of Down syndrome advocates, who do not welcome the news. Grete Fält-Hansen, the head of Denmark’s national Down syndrome organization told news outlets, “We know that many switch to autopilot when they are told that they are expecting a child with Downs. ‘It’s too overwhelming and we choose not to go through with it,’ is the reaction.” This reaction is exacerbated by the grim picture often conveyed by medical teams focused on worst case scenario or actively pressuring parents to choose abortion. Some parents are even ridiculed for choosing Life.
Fält-Hansen continued, “Our goal is to qualify the decision. The new figures call for the health authority to take responsibility and provide updated and nuanced information. We can’t have a society that automatically turns to abortion because of a diagnosis.” Unfortunately, legal abortion and the eugenics associated with abortion mean that we already live in that society. Despite rampant misuse of genetic screening, many parents are pressured to end their child’s life at any indication of disability or genetic anomaly.
In addition to the appalling loss of human Life that occurs when babies with Down syndrome are killed in the womb, there are many negative consequences for children and adults who have Down syndrome. In a culture that views a preborn baby with Down syndrome as unworthy of living or better off dead, the value of all people with the condition is put into question. Simply showing people with Down syndrome smiling and enjoying their lives is now seen as offensive and inappropriate.
Thankfully, people with Down syndrome are leading the charge to defend all human Life regardless of possible disability. Vibrant young adults like Julie Tennant are shattering stereotypes and raising awareness about the many positives of living with Down syndrome and bringing different perspective to the world. Studies show that the overwhelming majority of people with Down syndrome are happy, secure, and enjoy their lives. Although many face health challenges such as heart defects associated with the condition, they are not defined by Down syndrome and they are not any less worthy of Life.
Under current Texas law, babies who may have Down syndrome are still not protected from discriminatory abortion. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has defended Life on many occasions, pointed to the Preborn Nondiscrimination Act (Pre-NDA) as the next step in defending Life. If we do not protect the most vulnerable and fight the inhumane eugenics inherent in abortion, we will follow Denmark and so many other nations killing babies in discriminatory abortions. Every person, no matter the genetic anomaly or disability, has the Right to Life, and that right begins at conception.
