UK Catholic bishop speaks out after woman with Down syndrome loses abortion law appeal

Heidi Crowter and her legal team are now considering taking her case to the UK Supreme Court.

Following the ruling, pro-life advocates and parliamentarians expressed their solidarity with Crowter and reiterated their opposition to the UK’s law.

Lord Alton of Liverpool, crossbench peer, Catholic, and human rights advocate, shared an article on Twitter about the case along with the Tweet: “Heidi Crowter with Down’s Syndrome loses bid to end barbaric law and allows abortion up to birth on Downs babies-which I opposed when enacted. Judges say it’s up to Parliament not the Courts. Heidi’s right-it’s a terrible, discriminatory law which should be repealed.”

Meanwhile, Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said in a statement on November 25: “This is a great disappointment for people with Down’s syndrome and disabilities in general. The law clearly discriminates against people with Down’s syndrome and does not provide the same protections that other unborn babies have. Hopefully, Heidi and her team will have more success if they decide to take this case to the Supreme Court.”

The law in England and Wales allows abortion up to 24 weeks, but if the baby has a disability, including Down’s syndrome, cleft lip, or a club foot, abortion is then permissible up to birth.

A November 24 statement from the campaign group Right to Life said: “There were 3,370 disability-selective abortions in 2021. The number of late-term abortions at 24 weeks gestation or over where the baby has a disability increased by 20% from 229 to 274.

“The statistics showed there were 859 abortions where a baby had Down’s syndrome in 2021, an increase of 24% from 2020. The statistics also show a 71% increase in late-term abortions at 24 weeks gestation or over where the baby had Down’s syndrome, increasing from 14 in 2020 to 24 in 2021.”