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Celebrating World Down Syndrome Awareness Day

Updated: Jun 21



Media Release 17 March 2023


Right to Life believes that the Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, who voted for the extremist Abortion Legislation Act, supports the killing up to birth of unborn babies with Down syndrome. Does he believe that only the perfect should be allowed to be born?


Right to Life supports the United Nations World Down Syndrome Day, to be commemorated on Tuesday 21st March to celebrate the contribution that those people with Down syndrome make to our families and community. The theme for this day is “With us not for us.” Working with people with Down syndrome to improve their lives. Every unborn child is a unique and unrepeatable miracle of God’s loving creation that has been endowed with an inalienable right to life and deserves our respect and protection.


Right to Life asks the Minister of Health, Andrew Little why the government continues to conduct a national screening programme to detect Downs and other disabilities. The government conducts 40,000 screening tests each year to detect the unborn with Downs. The Ministerial guidelines given to clinicians states,” that encouragement should be given to women to make an informed decision.” The experience of many women is that they are expected and encouraged to choose to terminate their child if it has Downs. Right to Life believes that the screening programme is a search and destroy mission. Right to Life requests that