‘I’m thankful my parents chose to have me’

30 June 2021

Campaigner Heidi Crowter and her mother Liz joined us on Round the Table to discuss their legal case against the government over discriminatory abortion law.

25-year-old Heidi has Down’s Syndrome describes her life as a miracle – despite all the challenges she has faced, she is full of joy and doesn’t appear to let anything get in her way. “I was born with Down’s Syndrome, had leukaemia when I was a baby, and I even stopped breathing for a bit. When the doctor put me on a ventilator [when I was a baby], the first thing I did was give him a great big smile!”

Her mother, Liz Crowter, thinks similarly: “Nobody wants a disabled child to care for because you don’t want that for the child – but Heidi has proved us wrong on so many occasions. Of course there will be children with Down’s that won’t be as able as others. But their lives are just as precious, they are still made in the image of God.”

The idea that all life – no matter how able – is valuable, is in part what drove Heidi to start campaigning against abortions for Down’s Syndrome babies. According to the campaign Don’t Screen Us Out, which Heidi helped set up, the latest figures show that around 90% of unborn babies who are diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome are aborted. Babies diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome are legally allowed to be aborted right up until birth. Heidi calls this “downright discrimination.”

“At the moment, the law says a Down’s Syndrome baby can be aborted up till birth – and I will not tolerate that. I will not stay silent until this law is changed.”

This is why Heidi and Máire Lea-Wilson, a mother of a Down’s Syndrome child, are taking the government to court over current abortion law. The case is set to be heard on 6 July.

Please pray for Heidi’s case. Pray that abortion for Down’s Syndrome babies would be made unthinkable. Pray that more people would support her campaign.

You can watch more from Heidi and Liz on Round the Table:

 

Find out more at Don’t Screen Us Out campaign. And you can support and follow the legal case on Crowd Justice.

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