Down Syndrome Babies Protected from Abortion

Indiana has just become the second state in the country to pass legislation to protect unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome from abortion. North Dakota passed similar legislation previously. These laws also ban abortions for the purpose of sex selection.

Over time, tremendous strides have been made in laws to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and discrimination based on race or sex. However, with genetic testing and ultrasound, there has been nothing to protect unborn babies from being aborted because of fetal deformities or their sex. Most often it is the girl babies who are aborted because their parents want a son.

Sex selection abortions have also been banned in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Oklahoma; but these laws did not ban abortion of babies with genetic disabilities.

Much has changed since the time when Down syndrome children were placed in institutions, as it was believed that they could not learn and had no future as production citizens. Today, Down syndrome children are recognized for their value and are cherished by their families.

It seems logical that the next step is their protection before birth, as they have been after birth. The North Dakota law has already faced a challenge in court by the local abortion clinic and survived. Whether the Indiana law will be challenged remains to be seen, but it is likely that more states will join these first two in protecting the lives of Down syndrome children while they are still in the womb.