Indeed a very nice share... However, my eyes also caught the attention on the following statement:
"Rather, we must celebrate diversity and learn to celebrate the birth of every child, with or without disability.” I'm sure it must really be a moment of celebration for parents when they see their baby born? But, I'm not sure for how many would it really be? especially for the one whose lad is born with down syndrom! Regards, Shraddha. On 3/14/17, Shireen Irani <shireen....@gmail.com> wrote: > by Amba Salelkar > > > On February 28, 2017, a division bench of the Supreme Court denied a > woman permission to terminate a 26-week pregnancy after medical tests > revealed that > the foetus would be born with Down syndrome. This decision comes as > one of several reported recently where late-term abortions have sought > the nod of the > judiciary. > > The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act is often said to be one of > the more progressive statutes relating to women’s reproductive rights, > globally. While > the law allows medical terminations of any pregnancy up to 12 weeks, > beyond this and up to 20 weeks, terminations are allowed for two > reasons: a risk to > the life of the pregnant woman or of grave injury physical or mental > health, or there being a substantial risk that if the child were born, > it would suffer > from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped. > > The Act does not allow for a registered medical practitioner to > terminate a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks gestational age unless there is > a risk to the life > of the mother, and so the courts are approached for permission for > such procedures to take place. The Supreme Court, in this case, > appears to have relied > on the fact that delivering a child with Down syndrome does not pose > any more risk to the mother than delivering a child without Down > syndrome. What seems > to have attracted attention was that while delivering the judgement, > Justice SA Bobde > reportedly > observed that “everybody knows that children with Down Syndrome are > undoubtedly less intelligent, but they are fine people… we don’t think > we are going > to allow the termination of pregnancy. We have a life in our hands.” > > Justice Bobde, perhaps unwittingly, echoed the viewpoints of > disability rights organisations around the world, particularly those > representing persons > with Down syndrome and conditions like spina bifida, which are now > detectable well within the “safe” period for termination of > pregnancies. They have voiced > concerns that the vast improvements in imaging and testing are leading > to their elimination from the diversity of humankind. > > Screening out the disabled > > In the United Kingdom, current imaging has resulted in a 90% > termination rate of foetuses testing positive for Down syndrome. > Efforts to step up such testing > recently brought persons with Down Syndrome and their families onto > the streets to protest against the government “ > screening them out > ”. Autistic persons have spoken out against global NGOs like Autism > Speaks for raising for funding > research > focused on identifying genetic markers for autism, presumably so that > autism can be prevented by way of prenatal testing as well. > > Disability rights activists are clear that measures that prevent > impairments, for example, promotion of folic acid supplements to > expectant persons, vaccines, > nutritional supplementation etc. are not problematic. However, > elimination of persons who have these impairments most certainly falls > foul of the human > rights entitled to persons with disabilities. > > The Committee on the Rights of the Child, in 1997, while discussing > the rights of children with disabilities > stated: > > block quote > “It was of course vitally important to work towards the creation of a > safer world for children in which the risks of impairment and harm > were minimised, > but the solution was not through the denial of life itself as a > preventive strategy. Rather, we must celebrate diversity and learn to > celebrate the birth > of every child, with or without disability.” > block quote end > > Disability rights activists, particularly in the United States, are > mindful of the potential their cause has to curbing women’s > reproductive rights, particularly > in the present political scenario. This discomfort is reflected in the > Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities itself. > Pages/ConventionRightsPersonsWithDisabilities > The discussions behind drafting of > Article 10 > on the Right to Life reveal that though many interest > groups > and states advocated for the specific bar on terminations of > pregnancies on the grounds of disability, the text that received > consensus was silent on > the same. As seen from the concluding observations of the convention’s > committee relating to the implementation of the Convention in Spain, > termination > of pregnancies on the grounds of disability when there was a general > right to terminate a pregnancy was not per se violative of the > Convention, but States > that allowed for terminations only on the grounds of disability were > violating the convention as the protection offered to the foetus was > then not “on > an equal basis with others”. > > Informed choices about abortion > > In India, where prenatal determination of sex and consequent > termination of a pregnancy based on sex is prohibited, the door seems > already ajar to argue > that pregnant people have the right to terminate any pregnancy, but > not a particular pregnancy on the grounds of the sex of the foetus. > Interestingly, > the National Commission for Women in India has > opined > that there should be no gestational age cap to terminate a pregnancy > for certain cases including those in which there was a “substantial > risk that if > the child were born it would suffer physical or mental abnormalities”. > > The > draft amendment > to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, currently pending in > Parliament, does not accept this viewpoint and retains the exception > to the gestational > age cap only in cases where it is immediately necessary to save the > life of the pregnant woman. > > At the very least, pregnant persons should be given the right to make > an informed choice regarding continuation of their pregnancies. The > spectrum of “physical > or mental abnormalities” is a vast one and encompasses conditions that > may cause some physical or learning impairment to those that > practically guarantee > the death of the child on the delivery table. These abnormalities may > be caught in the recommended scans. The nuchal scan at 12 weeks that > detects fluid > build-up at the back of the foetus’ neck indicates chances that the > baby could have Down syndrome. The anomaly scan at 20 weeks is > designed to detect conditions > from cleft palate, short limbs, spina bifida, anencephaly and missing > or defective organs. > > Obviously, forcing expectant parents to undergo a full term pregnancy > to a certain tragic outcome is certainly a cruel human rights > violation, but grouping > this entire range of cases together by law stacks the odds against the > disabled. The draft Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act merits > reconsideration > in light of India’s obligations under the Convention of the Rights of > People with Disabilities. > > New understanding of disability > > Research has shown that medical professionals often make > highly subjective > decisions in advising termination of pregnancies. Activists in India > have demonstrated that medical professionals currently do not have the > training > for a rights-based approach to disability. Diagnoses like Down > syndrome and spina bifida, after all, carry no clarity as regards the > kind of support the > child requires. All human beings, from newborns to the elderly require > some degree of support in their day to day activities. Persons with > disabilities > merely require a different kind of support than others. > > With the current 20-week limit, expectant parents are often forced > into time bound decisions immediately after their second trimester > scans, with insufficient > information regarding what having a child with a particular impairment > actually involves. They are instead assured that the child would have > a poor quality > of life, reinforcing accepted notions of eugenics. > > Sustained efforts of the disability sector have resulted in > technological advancements, legislation, social protection schemes and > other inclusive measures > to ensure full participation of disabled people in public life. > Attitudinal barriers remain, encouraged by the isolation of persons > with disabilities in > special schools, sheltered workshops, and long-term homes away from > the community. Perhaps, we would welcome a child with a disability > into our lives if > we had grown up with classmates with disabilities, or seen them as > mainstream characters in films, or worked alongside them, or at the > very least had access > to speak to them to ask if they led lives worth living. Their answers > could lead to a change in the perceptions of many. > > The writer is a lawyer with the Equals Centre for Promotion of Social > Justice. > > > source: > > https://scroll.in/pulse/831667/the-dilemma-when-a-pregnant-woman-seeks-to-abort-a-foetus-with-a-detected-disability > > > Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of > mobile phones / Tabs on: > http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the > person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > -- Thanks and regards Shraddha Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
