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posted by martyb on Thursday August 17 2017, @11:09AM   Printer-friendly
from the I-Am-Sam dept.

Iceland is close to eliminating Down syndrome births due to widespread prenatal screening tests and nearly 100% of women choosing an abortion in the case of a positive test for Down syndrome:

With the rise of prenatal screening tests across Europe and the United States, the number of babies born with Down syndrome has significantly decreased, but few countries have come as close to eradicating Down syndrome births as Iceland.

Since prenatal screening tests were introduced in Iceland in the early 2000s, the vast majority of women -- close to 100 percent -- who received a positive test for Down syndrome terminated their pregnancy.

While the tests are optional, the government states that all expectant mothers must be informed about availability of screening tests, which reveal the likelihood of a child being born with Down syndrome. Around 80 to 85 percent of pregnant women choose to take the prenatal screening test, according to Landspitali University Hospital in Reykjavik.

[...] Other countries aren't lagging too far behind in Down syndrome termination rates. According to the most recent data available, the United States has an estimated termination rate for Down syndrome [open, DOI: 10.1002/pd.2910] [DX] of 67 percent (1995-2011); in France it's 77 percent (2015); and Denmark, 98 percent (2015). The law in Iceland permits abortion after 16 weeks if the fetus has a deformity -- and Down syndrome is included in this category.

The Prenatal Diagnosis link in the summary was replaced with a working version.

National Review has a counterpoint opinion piece about the CBSN article. Snopes has a page debunking inaccurate headlines about the article.


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  • (Score: 2) by NewNic on Thursday August 17 2017, @09:43PM (1 child)

    by NewNic (6420) on Thursday August 17 2017, @09:43PM (#555580) Journal

    .. according to a partisan website.

    Yet more denial of what most of the country can see: the Republican party is in power due to its support of racism.

    --
    lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday August 18 2017, @04:26AM

    by Reziac (2489) on Friday August 18 2017, @04:26AM (#555705) Homepage

    From THE FIRST FAMILY DETAIL, by Ronald Kessler:

    On Air Force One, President Johnson was discussing his proposed civil rights bill with two governors. Explaining why it was so important to him, MacMillan remembers that LBJ said it was simple: “I’ll have them niggers voting Democratic for two hundred years.”

    --
    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.