Don’t rush couples into abortion after first diagnosis

Don’t rush couples into abortion after first diagnosis National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street

Pro-life campaigners have said families should not be “rushed into” having an abortion after an initial diagnosis of a severe abnormality.

This comes after it was revealed last week that a couple aborted a baby that was misdiagnosed in the National Maternity Hospital.

The couple said they were told by hospital staff  that there was no need to wait for a second test result before proceeding with the termination. The initial test indicated the baby had a ‘fatal foetal abnormality’.

The Life Institute said the unborn who are misdiagnosed should not become “collateral damage”.

“This is a shocking, horrifying case – and it’s a mistake that cannot be rectified,” spokeswoman Niamh Uí Bhriain said. “Nothing will bring that baby back to its devastated family, and the inquiry into what happened needs to establish why the family felt they shouldn’t wait for the results of the more accurate test to come back.”