A nurse urged this Vogue model's mother to abandon her at the hospital

A British model with Down syndrome has enjoyed an incredible career in the entertainment industry — but when she was born, a nurse encouraged her mother to abandon her at the hospital.

Key Takeaways:

• Ellie Goldstein became the first person with Down syndrome to compete on the United Kingdom's "Strictly Come Dancing" this year.

• Previously, she has modeled for Gucci in a Vogue Italia campaign and appeared on a digital cover for Allure magazine.

• Goldstein and her family have said she was not expected to accomplish much as a child.

• Now, Goldstein's mother has opened up about a hurtful comment made by a nurse after her daughter was born.

The Details:

Model Ellie Goldstein and her mother, Yvonne, appeared on the "We Need to Talk" podcast with Paul C. Brunson, and in addition to the details of her flourishing career, discussed 23-year-old Ellie's early life. Yvonne explained that near the end of her pregnancy, something seemed wrong.

"I had my usual scans and everything, and it was about two weeks or so before the due date and something didn't feel right," she said. "I went for another scan and she was literally stuck across my stomach. So they decided I needed a caesarean. She came out and the glimpse I saw of her, she was completely purple, the cord was wrapped round her neck."

They managed to save Ellie, but then told Yvonne some news she hadn't expected: Ellie had Down syndrome.

"They said,' Do not feed her. Don't do anything.' She was screaming for a bottle. Four hours went past before anyone came back to see us," she continued. 'It was very odd. You’re thinking the worst, obviously. Then a team of seven people came in. He scooped her out of the cot, held in the air like this in her little nappy. ‘This is Ellie. She's got Down’s syndrome. She will never walk, talk or go to university.'"

She was told not to even try to feed Ellie, but Yvonne did anyway, and Ellie had no problems. But Yvonne said staff only continued their cruelty.

"Then this other nurse came in and looked at Ellie said, 'Oh, the last mother who had one of these left it here. Do you want to do that?'" Yvonne recalled.

Ellie Goldstein on Strictly, Vito And The Dances We Haven't Seen!

Zoom In:

Today, Ellie Goldstein is a successful model and actress. She has appeared on the cover of Vogue, and has modeled for brands like including Nike, Vodafone, Gucci, and Superdrug. She joined the cast of "Malory Towers," a BBC series, this year, and has published several books.

Yet she lives in the United Kingdom, where people with Down syndrome are routinely targeted for abortion.

In the United Kingdom, abortion is not permitted past 24 weeks pregnancy, unless the preborn child has a disability like Down syndrome — or even something correctable like a cleft lip. As prenatal testing has increased, eugenic abortions have increased as well.

There have been attempts to end these eugenic abortions, but they have all failed. Heidi Crowter, a woman with Down syndrome, has been fighting to end discriminatory abortions, but has lost these legal battles, though she has promised to continue fighting.

“The fight is not over,” she said. “We face discrimination every day in schools, in the workplace and in society. Thanks to the verdict, the judges have upheld discrimination in the womb too… [W]hen the going got tough, he kept going, and I’m going to do the same, because I want to succeed in changing the law to stop babies like me being aborted up to birth, because it’s downright discrimination. I’m not giving up, let’s do this.”

The Bottom Line:

People with Down syndrome are not incapable of having a fulfilling life, or accomplishing incredible things.