Professor Eva Pajkrt:

I agree with the Minister's statement, and I agree because she is speaking from the same framework as the one from which I refer. Ultimately, it is the choice of the parents. It is the choice of the mother and of the father. We are speaking as though it is only the women who want these things, but fathers also have clear ideas about how they will live their lives and what fits into their lives.

When one says they believe in patient autonomy and they should be the ones who have the choice, it is not that I wish everyone should have an abortion. We believe that people should be informed, know what their options are and should be counselled. If someone has a child with a disability, whether it is Down's syndrome or otherwise, there should be provisions for them, and we should live in a society where there is enough medical care for disabled children, and not a situation such as the United States where having a child with a disability is a huge burden and can ruin someone financially. A country has to look at itself and ask what kind of country it wishes to be. I think the Netherlands is a country where we care for everybody but the parents have the choice, and it is not a case where because they have been unlucky to have a baby with one type of disability or another, they must deal with it because others feel that they should have to be the ones to deal with it.