March 28, 2024

Collateral damage from Down Syndrome terminations

For every 660 Down Syndrome abortions, 400 normal children are miscarried
The risk of terminating healthy babies after a positive test for Down
Syndrome is far higher than previously claimed, according to a British study.
For every three unborn Down’s syndrome babies aborted, two healthy babies will
be miscarried because of the invasive methods used to confirm a diagnosis.

A report in the
Down’s Syndrome Research and Practice journal
claims that for every 660 Down
Syndrome foetuses which are detected and terminated in the UK each year, 400
normal children perish as well. The problem is that invasive tests are needed to
confirm a diagnosis of Down Syndrome in an unborn child. These involve a small
risk of miscarriage. According to the authors, Frank Buckley and Sue Buckley, of
Down Syndrome Education International, the vast majority of positive blood tests
for Down’s are actually false. But to confirm the diagnosis, worried mothers
have an amniocentesis, a test in which amniotic fluid is extracted with a long
needle. Or, earlier in the pregnancy, they can have chorionic villus sampling,
in which a sample of placental tissue is taken.

The best available evidence, say the authors, suggests that the risk of
pregnancy loss due to amniocentesis is 1% and that loss due to first-trimester
chorionic villus sampling is 2%. Erring on the conservative side, they used a 1%
loss figure for CVS in their calculations. If the more generally accepted figure
of 2% is used, about 600 normal children are being unnecessarily terminated – a
ratio of about 1 to 1.

The Guardian says that because the authors are Down Syndrome experts, they
could be “accused of pursuing their own agenda”. However, journalists seem to
have cross-checked with other doctors and found no one who denied the findings.
Professor Kypros Nicolaides, of King’s College Hospital in London, says that it
is “completely unacceptable” to lose this number of normal babies.

The Guardian also says that “The research casts doubt on the advice and risk
assessment given to women when they are deciding whether to undergo the
screening and subsequent testing to assess the health of an unborn baby.”
However, at the moment, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
is recommending that all pregnant women be offered prenatal screening at least
before 20 weeks. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE) has recommended that all women be offered a first trimester
test. ~ Guardian,
Sept 14

Down syndrome

One thought on “Collateral damage from Down Syndrome terminations

  1. Tests that risk the lives of unborn children are without doubt a moral risk. But the way this article uses statistics to scare the reader into believing “the truth” only serves to discredit the article. For example, in the opening paragraph: “For every three unborn Down’s syndrome babies aborted, two healthy babies will be miscarried because of the invasive methods used to confirm a diagnosis”. This ratio is simply journalistic scaremongering! It?s like comparing apples with oranges.

    Furthermore, nowhere in the article is mentioned the actual number of tests for Downs Syndrome (even a rounded figure would suffice), but only percentages, which again appear devoid of a number base or unit of comparison.

    This article is another great example of “lies, damn lies, and statistics”! The ironic thing is, it?s probably right!

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