A recent article in the British newspaper The Daily Mail sheds some light on a disturbing practice in the UK: late-term abortions of babies with webbed fingers, extra digits, or a club foot — defects that can usually be corrected with a simple operation or physiotherapy. There is much of interest in the article, including these comments from Michaela Aston of the UK pro-life group LIFE:
One sympathises for many of the parents of these unborn children aborted after disability has been detected. What information are they being given by healthcare professionals so that they can make a truly informed choice? We suspect that many parents make the decision to opt for abortion in complete ignorance of the help and support available to children with disabilities and their families. For this, health care professionals must shoulder a large part of the blame. If, as a society, we are truly committed to equality for people with disabilities then such blatant discrimination against the disabled unborn must stop.
