Ending a Pregnancy Because of Down Syndrome Is Not a Precursor to Eugenics

By Jen Gann
Aug 21, 2017

Over the weekend, Quartz published a post about the prevalence of Down syndrome in Iceland. Drawing statistics from a recent CBS report, Bonnie Rochman, author of The Gene Machine, writes, “In Iceland, nearly every woman who undergoes prenatal testing and whose fetus receives a diagnosis of Down syndrome decides to end her pregnancy.”

Note the word “decides.” No one is forcing women in Iceland to choose abortions — individual women are making those decisions. From this statement of fact, Rochman makes a shaky leap: “In essence, pregnant women in Iceland — and presumably their partners — are saying that life with disability is not worth living.”

Continued at source: The Cut: https://www.thecut.com/2017/08/down-syndrome-and-abortion-pregnancy.html