Telegraph seems comfortable with targeting of disabled babies for destruction

Yesterday a German high court ruled that embryos which have been frozen for future in vitro fertilisation (IVF) can be screened to see if they are likely to be born with disabilities. The Federal Supreme Court in Leipzig ruled in support of a Berlin gynaecologist who had carried out screening on embryos for three different couples and implanted only those without disabilities. The embryos with disabilities were left to die.

This follows the news last week of the development of a cheap blood test that could allow doctors to check unborn children for Down's syndrome.

Both of these developments, in my view, represent advancements in the genocide of unborn disabled human beings.

Like the article in The Telegraph that reported on the new blood test, the report on yesterday's development in Germany contains an offensive inaccuracy. The article describes human embryos without disabilities as healthy thereby implicitly suggesting that human embryos with disabilities are unhealthy.

Our society should not be applauding legal and scientific advancements in the targeting and killing of disabled human beings.

It is interesting to read today, again in The Telegraph, Edward Lyons, the former Labour MP, being praised (in his obituary) for his contribution to the advancement of the 1967 Abortion Act, specifically through advocating the abortion of unborn disabled children. The article reads:

Lyons made his greatest impact on the House of Commons in a deeply personal way, in his maiden speech. Breaking with convention by choosing a controversial topic, he intervened in the debate on David Steel's ultimately successful 1966 Bill to legalise abortion to disclose that his wife Barbara had herself had a termination early in their marriage.

Lyons told a hushed House of Commons that she took the step after contracting German measles, with doctors in Yorkshire telling her she must have the baby despite the risk of its being born deformed. "Our quest brought us to London," he said. "We were finally successful and we have no regrets."

I do not judge Mr Lyons or his wife for their decision. It is, however, worrying that The Telegraph, and other media outlets appear entirely comfortable with the promotion of the deliberate targeting and elimination of disabled individuals from our society.

Comments on this blog? Email them to johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk
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