Note:The
following is a press release from The
Dignitatis Humanae Institute
Rome,
9 December 2013
Shocking
revelations from Britain of a mother giving birth to a perfectly
healthy girl - after being advised by doctors to abort what they
wrongly diagnosed to be a brain damaged baby, has called into
question the quality and competence of medical counselling offered to
pregnant mothers.
Speaking
from his office in Rome, veteran Italian politician Luca Volontè,
Honorary President of the European People's Party in the Council of
Europe's Parliamentary Assembly and Dignitatis
Humanae Institute
Chairman, stated:
"This
situation is tragic but sadly not surprising. In what must be a time
of terrible anguish for the parents, all efforts must be made to
offer extensive information and a variety of opinions - such neutral
advice does not exist in Britain, nor in many other European
countries. Companies such as Marie Stopes International are referred
to for counselling directly by the NHS, while other genuinely
independent organisations such as disability groups - those without a
financial interest in selling abortions - are prevented from doing
so.
"This
particular case also demonstrates the subjective reasoning being made
by medical staff on what constitutes 'life worthy of living' - a
value judgement that many patients will often believe to be
infallible , but as this case shows, patients should not be afraid to
assert their autonomy on the best course of action."
Liane
and Ian Stooke from Bristol were told by doctors their baby would
suffer from severe brain damage and have little to no ability of
recognition, communication or movement. Liane was already 30 weeks
pregnant - beyond the normal limit for abortion - when doctors pushed
for termination, stating her baby would not enjoy a meaningful life.
"The doctor said it wasn't too late if we wanted to abort the
baby - he made it sound almost as if there was no other option,"
said Mrs Stooke. Thankfully for baby Miley, Ian and Liane chose to
defy such encouragements and proceed with the pregnancy, only to
discover their daughter was perfectly healthy and suffered from none
of the afflictions predicted by doctors.
Luca
Volontè concluded:
"Evidently
the support structure in place for parents in this position is not
fit for purpose. How many times has this occurred? Why aren't such
figures even recorded? Sadly, in 2011, the British Parliament
rejected proposals from Nadine Dorries MP to increase the range of
opinion and expertise available to pregnant mothers for counselling.
I can only offer sympathy to all would-be parents across the world,
who having aborted their own child under similar advice, now have to
live with the doubt of what might have been, the doubt that they
entirely unnecessarily terminated their longed-for son or daughter."
The
Dignitatis
Humanae Instituteaims
to uphold human dignity based on the anthropological truth that man
is born in the image and likeness of God and therefore has an innate
human dignity of infinite worth to be upheld. The Institute promotes
this understanding by supporting Christians in public life, assisting
them to present effective and coherent responses to increasing
efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square.
