The Court of Appeal is to hear argument that the Abortion Act 1967 unlawfully discriminates against the disabled. The Act permits abortion up to birth in the case of serious disabilities, including Down’s syndrome.
Heidi Crowter, a Christian who has Down’s syndrome, and Máire Lea-Wilson, the mother of a young son who has Down’s, last year lost a judicial review against the government.
However, the appeal court has now granted permission to appeal that ruling on limited grounds – that there is an arguable case the law is unlawfully discriminatory against unborn babies with disabilities.
The appeal judges said the High Court had erred in finding that the 1967 Act did not interfere with the applicants’ rights to private and family life and freedom from discrimination. Lord Justice Peter Jackson said that even if the appeal fails, clarity on the issue was important.
Permission was refused to appeal the decision that the unborn have no right to life or protection from inhumane treatment under the European Convention on Human Rights. Heidi said: ‘People shouldn’t be treated differently because of their disabilities, it’s downright discrimination.’
‘People like me are considered to be “seriously handicapped”,’ she added, ‘but I think using that phrase for a clause in abortion law is so out of date.
‘The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recently said that the United Kingdom should change its abortion law to make sure that people like me aren’t singled out because of our disabilities, but the government hasn’t changed the law.’
