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Activist Heidi Crowter outside the courthouse in London on Friday
Photo: James Manning / dpa
A woman with Down's syndrome has been defeated in a fight against Britain's abortion law.
27-year-old Heidi Crowter thinks the rule that babies with Down syndrome can be aborted until shortly before birth is discriminatory.
However, an appeals court in London on Friday upheld the decision of the previous instance, which had given the green light to the current legislation.
The law does not attack the rights of people with disabilities, the judges said.
"I'm angry that the judges say my feelings don't count"
Usually in England, Wales and Scotland - different rules apply in Northern Ireland - a pregnancy can be terminated up to the 24th week.
Subsequent abortions are possible if there is a "serious risk" that the child will suffer major physical or psychological disabilities after birth, including Crowter's Down syndrome diagnosis.
The woman filed a case against the government in the Supreme Court in July 2021.
According to a BBC report, the court recognizes that "many people with Down syndrome and other disabilities are angry and offended" because a diagnosis of severe disability is a legal ground for an abortion.
However, that alone is not enough to justify such an encroachment on rights.
The judges were referring to the Human Rights Act, a 1998 law that stipulates that the human rights of the European Convention on Human Rights also apply in the United Kingdom.
Following Friday's verdict, Crowter told reporters, according to the PA news agency: 'I'm angry that the judges are saying my feelings don't count.
It makes me feel like I'm inferior as a person with Down syndrome.« She announced that she would go to the Supreme Court, the UK's highest court.
swe/dpa
