In Ireland, amendment intended to ban abortion on disability grounds is rejected

Publié le 17 Dec, 2018

Irish Minister for Health Simon Harris has rejected calls to ban abortion on the grounds of disability. In fact, as technology advances, it will become much cheaper and easier to test for disabilities and Down syndrome could be in the firing line.

 

The Minister considers that this type of amendment would be entirely unworkable and “would likely have the effect of creating substantial and unnecessary difficulty for doctors in providing certification [to provide abortion services]”. He pointed out that abortion would only be authorised where there was a risk to the life or serious harm to the health of the mother, where there was a fatal foetal abnormality or where the pregnancy had not gone beyond 12 weeks. Otherwise, any violation would be prosecuted.

Irish Times, Jennifer Bray (29/11/2018)

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