On Monday, Pennsylvania legislature passed a bill to protect the lives of unborn babies with Down syndrome. The state's Senate Health Committee approved the bill, so now it will go before the full Senate for a full vote.
Currently in Pennsylvania, a woman can have abortion for any reason up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, except for the purpose of sex-selection. The Down Syndrome Protection Act would expand that exception to include unborn babies with Down syndrome.
According to Life News, the Down Syndrome Protection Act (House Bill 321) will protect the babies diagnosed with the extra chromosome by prohibiting abortion based solely on the diagnosis.
Research shows that the vast majority of children who receive a Down syndrome diagnosis in the womb lose their lives to abortion. Many parents report being pressured by doctors to turn to abortion after receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The legislation would protect families from this discrimination.
State Rep. Kate Klunk said, “We have a responsibility to protect those who don’t have a voice. We have a responsibility to stand up against eugenics. And, we have a responsibility to stand up to say that a baby with Down syndrome has a right to life and should not be discriminated against in the womb.”
Other sponsors include Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster and House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County. A number of disability rights advocates also support the bill, including Karen Gaffney, a long-distance swimmer with Down syndrome and disability rights advocate, Kurt and Chloe Kondrich, and Sara Hart Weir, the former president of the National Down Syndrome Society.
Pennsylvania Family Institute president Michael Greer said, “Today’s vote, along with the passage by the PA House, sends a compassionate message to Pennsylvania communities that no human being should be targeted for death by abortion because of a disability."
Abortion is wrong on all fronts, but it truly breaks my heart that people abort their babies for the simple fact that they have Down syndrome. It's cruel. It's murder.