November 21, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Recently introduced national legislation to ban abortions sought specifically due to a child’s Down syndrome diagnosis would be a major step forward for society, according to Fox News personality Rachel Campos-Duffy.
In October, Oklahoma Republican Sens. James Lankford and James Inhofe introduced the Down Syndrome Discrimination by Abortion Prohibition Act, which would make it illegal to perform an abortion “with the knowledge that a pregnant woman is seeking an abortion, in whole or in part, on the basis of” her belief that the child has or may have Down syndrome and would require abortionists to ask whether Down syndrome is related to their decision.
Offending abortionists would be subject to a fine and/or up to five years in prison under the law, and abortion facilities associated with them would lose federal funding.
In a recent interview with Ainsley Earhardt of Fox & Friends, Campos-Duffy, who is also the wife of former GOP rep. Sean Duffy and new mother to a baby girl with Down syndrome, said it was “really great to see” the bill introduced.
“We talk so much about tolerance and acceptance in this culture,” she said. “That has to extend to people with special needs like my baby. Our baby has already, in only two months, made our family better and stronger[.] … I think there's a lot to be learned and we’re literally exterminating them.”
Down syndrome, or Trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder typically associated with physical growth delays, distinct facial traits, and often intellectual disability. Despite these challenges, a 2011 study published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics found that 99% of people with Down syndrome described themselves as “happy,” and only 4% of parents with children with Down’s expressed regret about having their children.
Yet it is common practice around the world to abort preborn children specifically because of a Down’s diagnosis. The pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute estimates that abortion reduces the Down’s community in the United States by 30%. It has been estimated that 90% of babies in Great Britain to receive a Down syndrome diagnosis are aborted, 65% in Norway, virtually 100% in Iceland, and 95% in Spain.
“Iceland is being robbed of ever seeing what a Down syndrome child looks like and can bring into the world, which is certainly a lot of joy,” Campos-Duffy lamented. “And frankly, my daughter has every right to live as any other child does.”
Several Down syndrome abortion bans have been enacted at the state level, and Campos-Duffy expressed optimism about the ban’s chances at the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Some really great news is that Clarence Thomas has said … we have not yet established whether the constitutional right currently that we have for abortion in this country extends to what he calls eugenic abortions. Which is exactly what this is,” she said. “It is targeting children simply because they have one more chromosome than other people.”
Lankford’s and Inhofe’s bill cannot become law unless President Donald Trump wins re-election next year and Republicans retake the House of Representatives. If the GOP retains its Senate majority, passage will also likely require changing the current filibuster rules that require a 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation, which has stymied other pro-life bills despite majority support.