Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 23 November 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution

Obstetric Medicine in the Netherlands: Professor Sjef Gevers and Professor Eva Pajkrt, University of Amsterdam

2:00 pm

Photo of Rónán MullenRónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

A very small number. We have a tradition here in Ireland where children with Down's syndrome are perhaps more cherished than in many other countries. We are very proud of our international Special Olympics. Many people testify to the joy that Down's syndrome children bring into their lives and how the children change their lives in a positive way. There has been much concern and debate about the fact that, in Britain, over 90% of children diagnosed with Down's syndrome in pregnancy are aborted. Iceland has reached 100%. The great and the good in Denmark plan to be Down's syndrome free by 2030 - that is the quasi-official position. Has Professor Pajkrt figures for what percentage of children diagnosed with Down's syndrome in uteroare aborted in the Netherlands?

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