Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Denmark Welcomed Just Four Down Syndrome Babies Into The World Last Year

Image: Getty
Image: Getty
Share Tweet
By Will Maule
Author

December 7, 2017

A terrifying trend is developing across many European nations: the attempted eradication of all Down syndrome children. In Denmark, just four babies diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb were born during 2016.

Despite this shocking statistic, the government insists that is not trying to wipe out a generation of Down syndrome children. However, the facts and the law beg to differ.

Abortion legislation in Denmark is relatively by-the-book in comparison to other European nations. The procedure is legal as long as the woman’s pregnancy has not exceeded its twelfth week. Late-term abortions are allowed if the woman’s life or health is in danger.

The most shocking stat, though, is in the level of public support. There is little to no pro-life campaign base.  Indeed, a 2007 poll indicated that 95% of Danes support a woman’s right to a legal and safe abortion.

Despite the vast amount of Down syndrome babies being aborted, Danish officials insist that they are not attempting to wipe out a segment of their population. In a support letter to the Oireachtas committee that is debating the legalization of abortion in Ireland, Danish Ambassador to Ireland Carsten Søndergaard explained his thinking:

“In 2016, there were four children born in Denmark with Down’s syndrome after prenatal diagnosis and there were 20 children born with Down’s syndrome diagnosed after birth. In general, it should be noted that it is not the policy of the Danish health authorities to eradicate Down’s syndrome, but it is their duty to provide the pregnant woman with the best possible basis for her to make her own decision about her pregnancy.”

The Ambassador’s careful assurances were not enough for Irish pro-life campaigner Liz McDermott, who insists that the Nordic country is seeking “to eradicate Down Syndrome by abortion by 2030,” reported The Irish Times. Many in the anti-abortion community believe that Denmark is on the same path as Iceland when it comes to sky-high rates of termination. A recent CBS report examined Iceland’s abortion policy toward babies with disabilities, and the results were shocking:

“Few countries have come as close to eradicating Down syndrome births as Iceland,” the report begins. “Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women — close to 100 percent — who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.”

Want to understand the thinking behind this? In many ways, it comes down to a complete lack of recognition for the developed personhood of an unborn child. This is not a life, it is a future inconvenience. Just read the words of Iceland hospital counselor Helga Sol Olafsdottir:

“We don’t look at abortion as a murder. We look at it as a thing that we ended. We ended a possible life that may have had a huge complication… preventing suffering for the child and for the family. And I think that is more right than seeing it as a murder — that’s so black and white. Life isn’t black and white. Life is grey.”

Penny Nace, president and CEO of Concerned Women for America, takes a very different view:

“This is eugenics and barbarianism at best,” Nace said. “These individuals have no less worth than anyone else. What is the next headline going to be? That a certain country has eradicated all females. Oh wait, China has already been down that road. There is no limit to this train of thought of devaluing human life.”

There is no doubt that the recent statistics coming out of Denmark are horrendous, shocking, and deeply disturbing. But this is no a standalone anomaly when it comes to the wider global view of aborting Down Syndrom babies.

Indeed, CBS reports that the rate of Down Syndrome abortions in France was 77 percent in 2015. In the UK? Even higher at 90 percent. In the US, the figure sits at 67 percent between 1995 and 2011. Some put the rate even higher in America, however it is difficult to determine the exact number as the U.S. government fails to keep detailed statistics about rates of abortion.

This “pick and choose” mentality to the expulsion of life in the womb won’t stop at one disability, argues Down Syndrome advocacy group Down Pride. “The system of utilitarianism will not stop at Down syndrome,” the organization wrote in a letter to the UN, addressing the issue of abortion amongst those with Down Syndrome. “Within the not too distant future other groups will be identified: risk for autism, schizophrenia, low IQ? Children with these conditions also easily cost 1 to 2 million euros.”

The damning letter continues:

“The extermination of ‘unwanted’ persons from society happens sooner and is slickly marketed as ‘individual choice’. The effect on society is the same. Decisions are made by a handful of ‘experts’ behind closed doors with dubious (financial) agendas. People who –on the bases of their expertise- reinforce the incorrect assumption that Down syndrome is a ‘grave’ condition causing suffering.”

“Human rights law, designed to protect humanity from atrocities such as the deliberate and systematic extermination of a group of people who share distinct physical and genetic traits, is left out of the decision-making process.”

Irony sits heavy on the United Nations. Once heralded as a beacon of post-war unity and civil progress, it is painful to watch as they attempt to enshrine abortion as a human right. The very organization that promotes human flourishing and sustained world peace is legislating to exclude the unborn from the international protections and rights we all so readily enjoy.

In a recent draft commentary on Article 6 of the treaty on the right to life, it unequivocally denied the unborn from being granted basic human rights with this wide-ranging statement on lawful termination:

“States parties must provide safe access to abortion to protect the life and health of pregnant women, and in situations when carrying a pregnancy to term would cause a woman substantial pain or suffering, most notably when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or when the fetus suffers from fatal impairment.”

And yet, in Article 3 of its lofty document “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the UN declares:

“Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.”

What about Article 5?

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Learn anything about commonly-used abortion techniques and you will see that developed, thinking-and -feeling babies are being subjected to a brutal abuse of their fundamental human rights. No wonder the UN wants to remove the unborn from underneath the protection of their hallowed treaties. The parameters are becoming increasingly blurred, and as things are going, Iceland is just the start. It won’t be long before nations spanning the globe are stripping the unborn of any right to life, be it on the grounds of disability, preference, or simple inconvenience.

 

 

Latest

  • Faith

    He Died and Visited Heaven? 20 Years Later, Colton Burpo Revisits Claims He Met Jesus

  • Life

    Pregnancy Center Leader Reveals ‘Violent Attacks,’ Chaos as She Fact Checks ‘Fake Clinics’ Myths

  • Faith

    As Robert Morris Case Continues, How Should Christians Interpret Such Scandals?

  • News

    Joe Rogan Stuns With Skepticism of Big Bang, Proclamation About Jesus’ Resurrection

  • culture

    Humans Give Off Light That Extinguishes at Death, New Study Reveals


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • He Died and Visited Heaven? 20 Years Later, Colton Burpo Revisits Claims He Met Jesus
  • Pregnancy Center Leader Reveals ‘Violent Attacks,’ Chaos as She Fact Checks ‘Fake Clinics’ Myths
  • As Robert Morris Case Continues, How Should Christians Interpret Such Scandals?
  • Joe Rogan Stuns With Skepticism of Big Bang, Proclamation About Jesus’ Resurrection
  • Humans Give Off Light That Extinguishes at Death, New Study Reveals

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.