Utah May Become 5th State To Ban Abortion On Down Syndrome Babies

Following Ohio, Utah could become the fifth state in the Union to ban abortion on Down syndrome babies in response to news out of Iceland and Denmark claiming that Down syndrome has been “eradicated” in those countries.

“America has a high rate of abortions on such babies as well and so several states have endeavored to ban abortions when done specifically to target a baby with Down syndrome,” according to LifeNews.

Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, a Republican state representative from Clearfield, said that the bill proposed would make it illegal to obtain an abortion solely for a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The bill would make seeking a Down syndrome-specific abortion a Class A misdemeanor.

On the difficulty of enforcing the law, Lisonbee said, “I think there are ways around every law.”

“People break laws all the time,” she told the Deseret News. “That’s why we have a criminal justice system.”

Indiana, Ohio, and North Dakota all have protections in place for babies diagnosed with Down syndrome.

LifeNews profiled the discrimination such babies face:

Unborn babies with Down syndrome and other disabilities are discriminated against at astronomical rates. Parents whose unborn babies have Down syndrome or other disabilities frequently report feeling pressure to abort them by doctors and genetic counselors.

Earlier this year, a CBS News report shocked the nation with its exposure of the discriminatory abortion trend. According to the report, nearly 100 percent of unborn babies who test positive for Down syndrome are aborted in Iceland. The rate in France was 77 percent in 2015, 90 percent in the United Kingdom and 67 percent in the United States between 1995 and 2011, according to CBS.

The attitude toward Down syndrome patients reached a bone-chilling point last year when a video surfaced of a Dutch official telling a Down syndrome man how much it costs to keep him alive.