An 84% increase in the number of abortions where a baby has Down’s syndrome has been recorded in Scotland.

Abortion statistics released by Public Health Scotland show that numbers increased from 32 in 2021 to 59 in 2022.

The roll-out of new NIPT (Non-Invasive Pre-Natal) tests by the public health system, NHS Scotland, appears to be having an impact.

The disability advocacy group, ‘Don’t Screen Us Out’, is calling on the Government to undertake an urgent inquiry to review the impact that Non-Invasive Pre-Natal tests on the NHS in Scotland are having on the number of babies with Down’s syndrome who are screened out by termination in Scotland each year. They then want to see the introduction of urgent reforms to the national pregnancy screening programme in Scotland to ensure the increase in the number of abortions for Down’s syndrome is reversed.