Down Syndrome heading for extinction in Denmark

98 percent of DS pregnancies were aborted last year

Oct 20, 2015

The number of children born with Down Syndrome (DS) in Denmark has fallen drastically in recent years – so much so that the disorder could be a thing of the past in 30 years.

Since 2004 all pregnant women have been offered a DS scan – called a nuchal scan – and the number of abortions involving DS children has increased dramatically. Last year, 98 percent of pregnant women who were revealed to be carrying an unborn child with DS chose to have an abortion.

“When you can discover almost all the foetuses with Down Syndrome, then we are approaching a situation in which almost all of them will be aborted,” Lilian Bondo, the head of the midwife association Jordemoderforeningen, told DR Nyheder.

Positive development
And the steep drop in DS births is a positive development, according to the majority of Danes.

An Epinion survey for DR revealed that 60 percent believed it was good there were considerably fewer kids with DS being born.

Taking just the men’s opinion, over 70 percent thought it was a good thing, while about 50 percent of the women held that same opinion.

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