Scotland: Abortions for Down syndrome surge over 80% in 3 years

Public Health Scotland published new abortion statistics last week, showing that abortions following a Down syndrome diagnosis or a disability diagnosis rose significantly from 2021-2024. Notably, there were 82% more abortions on children with Down syndrome in 2024 than in 2021.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Abortions for Down syndrome rose 15% from 2023 to 2024 — and 82% since 2021.

• Despite attempts to restrict abortion for a prenatal diagnosis, Scotland and the UK allow these eugenic abortions until birth.

• Advocates believe that a prenatal screening tool is partially to blame for the rise in abortions.

THE DETAILS: 

According to the abortion report, there were 33 abortions in Scotland following a Down syndrome diagnosis in 2021, 52 in 2023, and 60 in 2024. The jump from 33 to 60 marks an 82% increase in just three years.

Other data shows that there were 280 abortions involving a preborn baby with a disability in 2024; this is a 26% increase from 2021, when there were 222 abortions for a prenatal disability diagnosis.

Lynn Murray, spokesperson for the advocacy group Don’t Screen Us Out, decried the huge increase in abortions for Down syndrome.

“As a mother of a 25-year-old daughter who has Down’s syndrome, I see every day the unique value she brings to our family and the positive impact she has on others around her,” Murray said. “It is deeply concerning that despite the leaps advocacy groups have made in raising awareness in support of people with Down’s syndrome, abortion in the case of Down’s syndrome is still so commonplace and widespread in the UK.”

GO DEEPER:

Although Scotland has a 24-week limit on abortion, abortion is allowed up to birth when the preborn child has been given a diagnosis of a disability or Down syndrome.

Earlier this year, UK MP Sir Liam Fox introduced a bill that would have removed the exception allowing abortion up to birth for babies with Down syndrome. However, the legislation stalled before being given the opportunity to become law.

READ: Prenatal screening is a pro-life tool hijacked by the abortion industry

Advocates have previously warned that the rise in abortions of children with Down syndrome may partially be due to NIPT (Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing), a screening tool that allows parents to determine if their preborn child has a diagnosis such as Down syndrome. A previous investigation by The Sunday Times found that the number of babies born with Down syndrome has fallen by 30% in NHS hospitals that have introduced the new form of screening.

Murray warned that when parents find out their preborn child has Down syndrome, they are often pressured to abort.

“In fact, we hear from parents all the time how abortion was repeatedly presented to them in the hospital as an obvious solution following the receipt of the news that their baby had Down’s syndrome,” she said.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Though the rise in abortion following a Down syndrome diagnosis follows an overall trend in rising abortion rates, leaders in Scotland seem unfazed that a growing number of preborn children are dying in the womb, instead noting that they will find a way to increase abortion access.

“The Scottish government notes the continued increase in the demand for abortion services and we are working to understand this increase and to take steps to address the issues behind it,” said Jenni Minto, the women’s health minister.

Prenatal screening should not be used as a ‘seek and destroy’ weapon against preborn children, but as a tool to help parents better prepare and care for their children.