Families tell of fears 99% accurate Down’s syndrome test could lead to rise in abortions
Dozens of families who have children with Down's have protested against the test
PARENTS fear a new test for Down’s syndrome will spark an increase in abortions.
The technique is 99 per cent accurate at telling pregnant women if their baby will have the condition - and it is set to become available on the NHS.
Dozens of families who have children with Down's syndrome have protested against the test, .
Branding the test a form of eugenics, they said Down’s syndrome was not a disease that needed to be eradicated.
Supporters of the technique – Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing – say it will give women more choice and see fewer of the miscarriages associated with the more invasive amniocentesis tests.
NIPT is already available privately for £400 to £900 and government advisers have recommended it be introduced on the NHS.
It involves a simple test of the mother’s blood, at about ten weeks, which shows up fragments of any "rogue DNA" from the baby.
Whitehall sources said yesterday the Government was poised to approve the programme. Screening will cost the NHS £280 per woman tested, compared with £650 for amniocentesis.
And Tom Shakespeare, who is chairing a group at the Nuffield Council on Bioethics examining the ethical consequences, said:"It is an open secret that any day now NIPT will be offered as an additional test for Down’s syndrome and other conditions."
He called for a public debate on whether couples had a right to know everything about their unborn child.
The advisory body, the UK National Screening Committee, found that, under NIPT, 102 extra babies a year would be confirmed as having Down’s.
Since an estimated 90 cent of women with an unborn baby with Down's syndrome opt for an abortion, campaigners claim it would lead to an additional 92 terminations a year.
In a letter to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the campaign group Don’t Screen Us Out says the NIPT programme "is projected to result in a profound increase in the number of children with Down’s syndrome screened out by termination".
It added: "This would have a profound long-term effect on the community of people with Down’s syndrome. These concerns are being constantly ignored by the Government. This must stop."
Dr Elizabeth Corcoran, of the Down’s Syndrome Research Foundation, said: "We demand Jeremy Hunt halt the roll-out of NIPT and listen to the views of people with Down’s syndrome and their families.
"Make no mistake, this is will not be to the benefit people of with Down’s syndrome, born or unborn.
"Anyone with a detectable genetic condition can expect the same fate for research into their condition when NIPT rolls out.
"NIPT will affect the future of humanity, it is a powerful technology with a potential for abuses."
The campaigners are not calling for an end to testing, or for women to be denied the choice of having an abortion, said a spokesman.
But they claim mothers whose test results indicate Down’s should be given more "balanced" information about the pros and cons of keeping the baby.
Presently, they argue, a Down’s result is presented as "bad" news.
They want the Government to consult people and families living with Down’s syndrome, and to reform the counselling given to prospective mothers who are considering an abortion, before any new testing regime is brought in.
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