LONDON, May 5, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — This summer, the U.K.’s High Court will hear a challenge to a law permitting the abortion of babies with Down syndrome until birth.
Down syndrome activist Heidi Crowter, 25, and Máire Lea-Wilson, 32, the mother of two boys, one with Down syndrome, filed a challenge to the Abortion Act 1967 last year, arguing that its provisions discriminate against disabled people. The application was granted in October, and the hearing will take place from July 6 until July 7.
Currently the British Abortion Act 1967 sets a 24-week limit on the age at which an unborn baby can be killed, unless “there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it [sic] would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.” In this case, the child can be killed until he or she is literally moving down the birth canal.
Crowter, married last July to James Carter, who also has Down syndrome, has been using her own life to illustrate that a life with Down syndrome is worth living. She is also using her “Living the Dream” social media project to fight for the right of children with the condition to live their own.
“Basically, the court case is that a baby without Down syndrome can be aborted up to 24 weeks, but a baby like me and James can be aborted up to birth, which is discrimination” Crowter told the BBC this week.
“And the reason it’s important to both me and James is because we are [both] someone with Down syndrome, and we want to say to the world that we have a good quality of life.”
On her Facebook page, Crowter remarked that she was the first person with Down syndrome to take the British government to court to challenge them on “their perspective of people with Down’s syndrome.”
Lea-Wilson’s son Aidan, who is now 23-months-old, was not diagnosed with Down syndrome until the 34th week of gestation; his mother was offered an abortion three times before he was born, two weeks later.
“I have two sons that I love and value equally, but the law does not value them equally,” Lea-Wilson told the BBC. “My motivation for taking this joint legal action with Heidi has always been simple. As a mother, I will do all that I can to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of my son, Aidan.”
Other women in Britain have reported feeling pressured by medical professionals to agree to abortions after their children have been diagnosed with Down syndrome or other disabilities.
The head of the U.S. Bishops' Pro-Life office, Archbishop Joseph Naumann, is under attack for consistently calling out Joe Biden for the serious sin of publicly promoting abortion.
A petition has been launched against Archbishop Naumann because he continues to preach the truth that "Catholic" politicians who promote abortion are endangering their souls and causing grave scandal to the faithful.
We must now come to Archbishop Naumann's defense.
Please SIGN and SHARE WIDELY this petition which urges the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops not to demote or remove Archbishop Naumann from head of the Pro-Life Committee, but rather, to follow his lead in urging Joe Biden to repent of the terrible sin of promoting the murder the unborn human beings.
Archbishop Naumann has come under fire, from people who plainly know or care little about Catholic moral teaching, for stating the obvious in a recent interview with LifeSiteNews:
It is the responsibility of the Bishops of the United States to defend the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life, and to protect the integrity of Catholic moral teaching. We cannot abdicate either of these responsibilities, even as we are eager to work with everyone to promote the common good...
We must continue to speak to President Biden, as well as all Catholics, and even all Americans, about the truth of what abortion is. Abortion is not something to be celebrated, and it is not healthcare. It is the intentional killing of a child. To participate in abortion or to promote abortion is a grave evil.
And, in an even more pointed statement made in an interview with Catholic World Report, Archbishop Naumann defended the Holy Eucharist against Biden's attack on human life, suggesting that Biden should not present himself for Holy Communion:
When Catholics receive the Eucharist, they are acknowledging the Real Presence of Jesus, and also belief in the teachings of the Church. President Biden doesn’t believe in the Church’s teachings on the Sanctity of Human Life, and he should not put the priest in the situation where he has to decide whether or not to allow him to receive the Eucharist. He should know that after 78 years as a Catholic.
But, again, by calling out Joe Biden for his public promotion of abortion, Archbishop Naumann is not doing anything out-of-the-ordinary.
He is only saying what the bishops should have all been saying, with a unified voice, since Biden won the nomination during the election campaign.
Indeed, in an open letter published on inauguration day, Archbishop José Gomez, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), warned that Biden’s pledge to pursue anti-life and anti-family policies would advance “moral evils” in the areas of “abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender."
Please SIGN and SHARE this petition to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops not to demote or replace Archbishop Naumann as head of the Pro-Life Committee, but rather, to follow his lead in urging Joe Biden to repent of the horrific sin of promoting the murder of the preborn.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
'EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Naumann – US bishops must address scandal of ‘Catholic’ Biden championing abortion' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-bishop-naumann-us-bishops-must-address-scandal-of-catholic-biden-championing-abortion
'Bishops need to ‘correct’ pro-abortion Biden for ‘acting contrary’ to Catholic faith: Abp. Naumann' - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/bishops-need-to-correct-pro-abortion-biden-for-acting-contrary-to-catholic-faith-abp-naumann
Crowter’s mother Liz told the U.K.’s Channel 5 News that sometimes doctors tell mothers of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome that they have already booked them in for an abortion. She recommends that any parents whose child is diagnosed with Down syndrome do research to learn the realities about the condition, including reaching out to other parents.
According to the U.K.’s Right to Life association, there were 3,183 “disability-selective abortions” in England and Wales in 2019, and 656 of these infants had Down syndrome.
Heidi Crowter expressed deep satisfaction on her fundraising page about the court date.
“I feel so excited to get a court case date because I feel like there is finally a chance to fully achieve Down’s syndrome equality in this land and for our voices to be heard,” she wrote. “Thank you so much for your support so far; we are really, really grateful. We hope you are as excited as we are that we finally have a date. Would you please consider helping us to cross the finish line to the £100,000?”
To help Crowter in her campaign for the lives of disabled babies, please click HERE.