How many babies prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS) are aborted in the United States each year?
Well, we don’t know. While new data suggesting lower numbers has recently been published, we continue to see most often in print a statistics of 90% – 92%.
While that certainly draws attention to the horrifying reality that the majority of children prenatally diagnosed with DS are aborted, it is not accurate.
That number relies on a 1999 European study with little data drawn from the U.S. There are good reasons for advocates to use the best data available to raise awareness of the problem that exists in the link between prenatal diagnosis and abortion.
The net result of their research is that abortion after prenatal diagnosis has reduced the population of individuals living with DS in the U.S. by approximately 30%.
This should not be confused with the percentage of women who abort following a prenatal diagnosis. That number would certainly be higher. This reflects the overall reduction in the DS population, and takes into consideration total DS pregnancies, whether prenatally diagnosed or not.
The authors state that prior to October 2011 and the availability of NIPS, about 72% of women elected to have traditional prenatal screens and only an estimated maximum of 2% went on to have invasive diagnostic procedures, i.e., amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling. If prenatal screening becomes more widely available, as seems to be happening, then one would expect the number of terminations to increase.
As an interesting aside, the authors estimate the total case prevalence of DS in the U.S., excluding elective termination and natural loss, to be 1 in 365. This number correlates closely with the reported live birth incidence of DS in the Arab world where abortion for DS is not permitted. The birth prevalence in Dubai is estimated at 1 in 449 overall, but much greater among the Emiratis: 1 in 319.
In this publication, the authors have identified regional and racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of abortion following prenatal diagnosis by drawing data from 12 states that maintain live birth data of DS births by racial/ethnic group. The group with the highest number of terminations was Asians/Pacific Islanders (61%) followed by non-Hispanic whites (39%), non-Hispanic blacks/Africans (27%), Hispanics (18%), and American Indians (16%). Regionally, Hawaii and the Northeast states have the highest termination rates compared to other regions of the US at 62% and 46%, respectively. The South is the lowest with an overall reduction rate of approximately 23%.
