TV mother calls for an end to negative medical advice about Down’s children

A volunteer nurse holding an young boy at the Bo De Pagoda orphanage in Hanoi on May 28, 2013. At the orphanage, dozens of disabled children - from teenagers with Downs Syndrome to two-month-old blind babies - are cared for by a team of 34 volunteers. PHOTO | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Julie Nightingale from Debenham, one of whose three children has Down’s, said she shared Sally’s concerns.
  • Sally Phillips is fearful this will lead to an increase in the already high rate of abortions, and last week she took her case to television.
  • Down’s children are also widely known to be extremely affectionate.

Scientists have discovered a test which will state with 99 per cent certainty whether a pregnant mother is carrying a baby with Down’s Syndrome.

Sally Phillips, mother of such a child, is fearful this will lead to an increase in the already high rate of abortions, and last week she took her case to television.

“This is Olly, my son,” she said as the cameras showed her 11-year-old Down’s boy happily telling jokes to his siblings at the dinner table.

A writer and actress best known for her part in the Bridget Jones films, Sally berated the medical profession for giving would-be parents almost entirely negative information about Down’s syndrome.

It is a genetic condition, not a disease, she said, and one that actually predisposes the child to happiness. Down’s children are also widely known to be extremely affectionate. There is always some level of learning disability and those affected often have similar physical features. But a programme has been developed which has helped children to do well at school and get a job after.

That I know is true, because there was a guy with Down’s on the supermarket checkout line where I live. He was also the nicest of them.

FRIGHTENING STATISTICS

Sui, aged 21, from Australia, takes part in international equestrian competitions, and Chelsea from America is a top-ranking gymnast. Both have Down’s.

But the statistics are frightening. Nine out of 10 British women choose abortion if their baby is diagnosed in utero, and there are now fewer than 40,000 people with Down’s in this country.

The new test has been available in Iceland for some time. There, every positive diagnosis for Down’s has resulted in termination: 100 per cent in the past five years.

Sally said her film A World Without Down’s Syndrome? shown on BBC Two, asked the question: “What kind of society do we want to live in?”

Julie Nightingale from Debenham, one of whose three children has Down’s, said she shared Sally’s concerns. “If we are going to say we won’t allow imperfections or allow people to overcome difficulties, then what does that say about us as a nation?”

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More torture by Those Who Now Rule Our Lives:

My iphone stopped charging, so I took it to EE (a company which relieves me of £39.08 per month), but the lady said, “That’s Apple, they’ll handle it.” Thank you, EE.

Eleven o’ clock on a Friday morning and the vast and shiny Apple store in the mall was filled with anxious-looking customers and Apple geniuses in blue tops carrying clipboards.

One of these latter said there was a waiting time of four hours. Ouch! Could I make an appointment for tomorrow? Alas, no, but I could make one for next week. By when the phone would be dead. Best thing would be to come immediately after the store opens at 9 a.m. and wait. No thanks.

MY PHONE WAS OK

I went back on Sunday, mid-morning again. Same scene, but more exciting this time because a security man and a policeman had a guy pressed up against the wall. “He was stealing from us,” said an Apple genius indignantly.

This time I was offered a wait of one hour and a quarter, so I accepted and went for lunch. Two hours later I was texted: they were nearly ready for me.

Half an hour after that, a genius lady told me my phone was OK and I probably I needed a new charge cable. That will be £19, please. Thank you and goodbye.

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A BBC poll has discovered that nine out of 10 women are glad they are women and not men, compared with only about six out of 10 in 1947.

Comparing attitudes of modern women with their counterparts in various past times, a poll of 1,004 ladies of all ages found that 87 per cent today would marry the same person if they had their time over again. This compared to 77 per cent in 1949.

Today, 60 per cent of women are in work against just 31 per cent in 1951. Their reasons: First, self-respect, second, money.

What is the worst thing anybody could call you: Fat, stupid or boring? Most of the younger women said fat, but when older women were added, the answer was stupid. The perfect family size? The women of 2016 and the women of 1938 had the same answer, two children.

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More silly but true Tech Support calls:

TS: Press any key to continue. Customer: I can’t find the “Any” key.

Customer: My disk ran out of space while I was trying to save my Word document, so I changed from double-spaced to single-spaced, but it still won’t fit.

TS: You have Spyware on your machine which is causing the problem. Customer: Spyware! Can they see me getting dressed?