Downs Syndrome eradicated now in Iceland

[Crimson Dynamo]

With the rise of prenatal screening tests across Europe and the United States, the number of babies born with Down syndrome has significantly decreased, but few countries have come as close to eradicating Down syndrome births as Iceland.

Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women -- very close to 100 percent who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.

And other countries are close behind

So nearly 100 percent of the 80 to 85 percent of people who take the test and test positive for Down Syndrome choose to abort their pregnancy. There are similar termination rates after fetal diagnoses of Down syndrome in other European countries. In Denmark, for example, the rate is about 98 percent, CBS News reported. In the United States, for comparison’s sake, the rate of mothers choosing to terminate their pregnancy after receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis is about 68 percent.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/down-syndrome-iceland/


This is good news going forward?

[smudgie]

Some of the happiest children you see have Downs.
If it was a question of them actually eradicating the Downs then wonderful, but it's not, it's more a question of terminating the babies with it.
I had an uncle that was a r..word (the medical terminology when he was born),
He obviously wasn't capable of filling forms out or looking after himself independently but he led a happy enough life.
It's up to the individual to weigh up what they are willing to sacrifice in time and effort against the love they will be given in return I suppose.:shrug:

[AnnieK]

Yeah, I thought this was some medical breakthrough not aborting babies who have the chance of a relatively normal life (depending on the severity of the condition).

[Vicky.]

Surely downs could never be eradicated? Thought it was caused by mutated genes or something rather than being an 'illness' as such.

[Livia]

Surely downs could never be eradicated? Thought it was caused by mutated genes or something rather than being an 'illness' as such.

I thought so too. I think all they've done is make abortion more accessible and while I support a woman's right to choose, I can't celebrate this as a medical breakthrough.

[Niamh.]

Yeah the title is a bit misleading

[Cal.]

Trash

[Marsh.]

Yeah, kill all the downs babies. :umm2: Incredible forward thinking by the human race.

[Tom4784]

How horrible.

[arista]

How horrible.

Its Iceland
a changing nation

[Cherie]

With the rise of prenatal screening tests across Europe and the United States, the number of babies born with Down syndrome has significantly decreased, but few countries have come as close to eradicating Down syndrome births as Iceland.

Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women -- very close to 100 percent who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.

And other countries are close behind

So nearly 100 percent of the 80 to 85 percent of people who take the test and test positive for Down Syndrome choose to abort their pregnancy. There are similar termination rates after fetal diagnoses of Down syndrome in other European countries. In Denmark, for example, the rate is about 98 percent, CBS News reported. In the United States, for comparison’s sake, the rate of mothers choosing to terminate their pregnancy after receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis is about 68 percent.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/down-syndrome-iceland/


This is good news going forward?


They must be aborting babies on a percentage of having a Downs baby though, I had a friend and she was given an high change of her baby having Downs but she went through with the pregnancy and the child is fine, so unless the diagnosis has changed the choice is still the same, make a decision based on a percentage, not an easy thing to do

[DemolitionRed]

I would of thought that if more women in certain countries have abortions for DS, its because there's generally more fear of having a DS baby in those countries. I don't call that forward thinking.


yQJEoRhkapw

[Smithy]

Yeah the title is a bit misleading

From LT? A clickbait thread title?! Shocking!!

[pontyboi]

With the rise of prenatal screening tests across Europe and the United States, the number of babies born with Down syndrome has significantly decreased, but few countries have come as close to eradicating Down syndrome births as Iceland.

Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women -- very close to 100 percent who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.

And other countries are close behind

So nearly 100 percent of the 80 to 85 percent of people who take the test and test positive for Down Syndrome choose to abort their pregnancy. There are similar termination rates after fetal diagnoses of Down syndrome in other European countries. In Denmark, for example, the rate is about 98 percent, CBS News reported. In the United States, for comparison’s sake, the rate of mothers choosing to terminate their pregnancy after receiving a Down syndrome diagnosis is about 68 percent.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/down-syndrome-iceland/


This is good news going forward?

This is disgusting.

[Cal.]

They must be aborting babies on a percentage of having a Downs baby though, I had a friend and she was given an high change of her baby having Downs but she went through with the pregnancy and the child is fine, so unless the diagnosis has changed the choice is still the same, make a decision based on a percentage, not an easy thing to do

Yeah exactly. My mum was told there was a high percentage I was going to be Down syndrome but she went through with it and obviously I don't.

[Shaun]

Basically eugenics then. I've never understood the phenomenon of people getting to pick and choose what traits and diseases their offspring are born with, although obviously the more horrible and life-debilitating should be carefully considered. But as others have said, downs syndrome is so inconsequential in the happiness and upbringing of a child that this seems... I don't know, disrespectful to those who have it.

It's a difficult issue of course because eliminating a disease should always be a goal but what does it say to those already with it?

[Crimson Dynamo]

Very difficult to make a call unless you have faced the choice as it rather focusses the mind..

[AnnieK]

Very difficult to make a call unless you have faced the choice as it rather focusses the mind..

I do agree with this to a certain extent with some foetal abnormalities (not Downs however). Many factors would have to be considered for some parents - other children, the severity of abnormality, the amount of care required etc etc.

[Northern Monkey]

Well atleast it’s for a genuine medical reason I suppose.Better than women having 3 abortions just cos they cba looking after them.

[Niamh.]

Well atleast it’s for a genuine medical reason I suppose.Better than women having 3 abortions just cos they cba looking after them.Women and men mostly but of course it's always the woman's fault

[Northern Monkey]

Women and men mostly but of course it's always the woman's fault

Yeah but half the time they don’t even ask the father what he wants to do.Some women use it like contraception.I know of a few.

[DemolitionRed]

I think it must be a really difficult choice for any pregnant couple to make. A DS child grows up to be a DS adult. They will likely need care and support all their life. What happens when the parents grow too old and have to make that heart wrenching decision to put their now adult child into supported or residential living? How will they cope with a child with a learning disability? how will it affect their sisters and brothers? Will the child have a heart defect or other complex issues? So many questions, so much fear of the unknown. I fully understand why people have abortions and I would never condemn anyone who made that choice.

I do though, believe there's an awful lot of unguided fear surrounding DS. Parents of DS children normally love that child just as much as they would love a neurotypical child. They don't see this child as a hinderance but as someone unique and special. They don't get the pleasure of watching their child graduate from university but they do get the pleasure of seeing their child progress, in a different but just as important way.

In this day and age, with the sort of values we put on both children and adults who are DS or have a learning disability, we have far less to worry about. Gone are the institutions and gone are the stigmas that used to surround children who are different. Person centered care has made massive progress in the health industry, it just needs to progress outward to the bigger community; but from what I'm seeing here in these lovely responses is, its already doing that. :thumbs2:

[Marsh.]

Yeah but half the time they don’t even ask the father what he wants to do.Some women use it like contraception.I know of a few.
And the other half of the time it's men pressuring a woman to abort a baby they can't be arsed with.

Let's not simply demonize women with generalisations as it can work both ways.

[hijaxers]

Its Iceland
a changing nation

Whats it changing into ? aborting all disabilites , thats not a good change in any way, shape or form . I would think this decision would disgust the many.

[Niamh.]

And the other half of the time it's men pressuring a woman to abort a baby they can't be arsed with.

Let's not simply demonize women with generalisations as it can work both ways.Exactly

[Saph]

it depends on if the mother wants to keep it or not

my step-uncle has downs and my step dad said that his mum would've chose to abort had she have known, obviously she loves him and he turns 40 later this month, but shes had so much stress and worry about him and his future etc, kinda like having a child that never quite grows up

[Marsh.]

Not sure how it's "eradicated" there will still be downs syndrome children. They're just aborting them based on probabilities.

[Crimson Dynamo]

The tests are so good now that they can identify the issue every time and give the parents the choice earlier which is good news and progress.

[Marsh.]

The tests are so good now that they can identify the issue every time and give the parents the choice earlier which is good news and progress.
They can identify the "chance" but most conditions like downs can't be 100% predicted how severe they will be, or even affect the child at all.

So not much progress at all.