1300 people with Down syndrome have signed an open letter to the Prime Minister of New Zealand calling on the government to not introduce abortion up-to-birth for Down syndrome.
The large number of families signing the letter comes ahead of committee stage of the Abortion Legislation Bill, which is expected to take place today, and as parents with children with Down syndrome from around the country have launched a major campaign calling on MPs to vote NO to introducing abortion up-to-birth for babies with Down syndrome.
The Downright Discrimination NZ campaign involves families mobilising local communities around the country to urgently contact their MPs asking them to oppose the Abortion Legislation Bill at committee stage, while making it clear that this will be a major factor in their decision on who to vote for in the upcoming general election.
A detailed outline of the proposed law change and how it will introduce abortion for Down syndrome to birth is available on the Downright Discrimination website.
The group are encouraging all members of the public to visit www.downright.org.nz where a tool has been launched which will allow them to email their MPs about this urgent issue.
There was no attempt from the Committee to hide their intention to retain this proposed clause in the Abortion Legislation Bill so that it could be used for disability-selective abortions – they stated it bluntly in their report.
New Zealand is now left with a Bill, following second reading, which will have a very large negative impact on the already small community of people with Down syndrome in NZ.
The families have, therefore, launched the campaign to ask MPs to do the right thing for the community of people with Down syndrome and vote against the Abortion Legislation Bill at committee stage this week.
