Photograph: James Manning/PAPhotograph: James Manning/PAA woman with Down’s syndrome has lost a court of appeal challengeHeidi Crowter, who brought the case alongside Máire Lea-Wilson, whose son Aidan also has Down’s syndrome, had argued that allowing pregnancy terminations up to birth if the foetus has the condition is discriminatory and stigmatises disabled people.
Crowter, 27, said she was “absolutely distraught” by the ruling and the existing law made her feel that people like her should be “extinct”. They said: “The court recognises that many people with Down’s syndrome and other disabilities will be upset and offended by the fact that a diagnosis of serious disability during pregnancy is treated by the law as a justification for termination, and that they may regard it as implying that their own lives are of lesser value.
What a ridiculous court case to bring.