Are Down's Syndrome Lives Worth Living?

My apologies if the question causes any offense! I mean it not to be provocative as if this really should topic of discussion, rather, I ask it to make a point.

Back in 2020, the New Zealand government, under PM Jacinda Ardern, liberalized NZ’s restrictions on abortion in order to provide an up-to-birth abortion option. This led to a lot of pushback from disability advocacy groups, especially groups like Don’t Screen Us Out, who advocate the right to life for people with Down’s syndrome. They put out a poster impersonating Ardern:

Fake quote from Jacinda Ardern, she never said this, put out by Don’t Screen Us Out

Let me be clear, abortion is a morally complex issue. I believe there are legitimate grounds for an abortion in some instances (e.g., ectopic pregnancies, etc) and I’m in favor of women having rights and agency over their own bodies. But I cringe over ableist ideology

When the abortion issue comes up in debate, two questions I like to ask people are:

(a) Are Down’s Syndrome lives worth living?

(b) Are you in favor of terminating Down’s Syndrome babies in utero?

Most people will gladly affirm (a) and reluctantly affirm (b), to which I reply as a sincere question, “How do you reconcile holding to both (a) and (b)?” It’s like saying, “We love and value Down’s Syndrome people, but we will not hesitate to kill you in utero to stop you existing in the first place!” When I put it like that, it usually leads to good conversations and people are forced to think about an issue rather than just screech verbal abuse and tribal mantras.

It is interesting that last year in the UK, Heidi Crowter, a 27-year-old woman with Down’s Syndrome, lodged a legal appeal to prevent the abortion of babies with Down’s Syndrome. Her appeal was lost and the reasoning of the judges was, well, concerning if you ask me. Read this:

In a summary of the decision, by Lord Justice Underhill, Lady Justice Thirlwall and Lord Justice Peter Jackson, the judges said: "The court recognises that many people with Down's Syndrome and other disabilities will be upset and offended by the fact that a diagnosis of serious disability during pregnancy is treated by the law as a justification for termination, and that they may regard it as implying that their own lives are of lesser value. … But it holds that a perception that that is what the law implies is not by itself enough to give rise to an interference with article 8 rights (to private and family life, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights)."

Clare Murphy, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the UK version of Planned Parenthood, said it supported the verdict: “There is no contradiction between a society which champions the rights of disabled people and one which allows women to make difficult decisions in heart-breaking situations [i.e., terminate babies with disabilities in utero]."

I beg to differ in their logic that such a verdict does not diminish the human rights of people with disabilities, as do people with Down’s Syndrome. In any case, Heidi has promised to fight on, good for her!

Proof that people with Down’s Syndrome can enrich and enhance our lives is that Spain recently elected its first parliamentarian with Down’s Syndrome. Mar Galcerán was elected to a position in May 2023 in the People’s Party. She is the first person with Down’s Syndrome in Europe or the World to serve in a regional or national parliament. Good for her!

In sum, you can be opposed to ableism or you can support eugenics …

BUT

YOU

CAN’T

DO

BOTH!