The impact of eugenic abortion on parents and families

New medical technologies, including a new test for Down syndrome, have increased the ability of doctors to test for disabilities and genetic disorders before birth. Parents usually see these tests as a way to assure themselves that their unborn child will be healthy. Medical professionals and scientists, on the other hand, often see the tests as a tool to find and eliminate "defects" through abortion.

This article from the Eliot Institute is the first in a three-part series on prenatal testing and abortion. Part 1 looks at what available research reveals about the impact of eugenic abortion on parents and families. Parts 2 and 3 will discuss how pressure and coercion from the medical community are often used to bring about these abortions, and what we can do to help parents who are facing a negative prenatal diagnosis.

Editor: You may be wondering, what's this article doing here? Why isn't it on one of BFL's other blogs that deal with abortion? Here's why: Eugenic abortion -- also known as "therapeutic" abortion, done when parents receive a poor prenatal diagnosis -- is where the issues of abortion and euthanasia meet. We're currently updating our LIFT manual to include a section on perinatal hospice and ministry to the disabled. That's why we've been including articles like this on this blog for the past few months.