Atheist author Richard Dawkins has caused widespread outrage by suggesting it is “immoral” to allow babies with Down’s Syndrome to be born.
The evolutionary biologist made the remark in a debate on Twitter in which he criticised the Catholic Church for its opposition to abortion.
Dawkins posted a tweet linking to an article he had written entitled: “'The Catholic Church prefers medieval barbarism to modern abortion”.
He said parents should abort babies with Down’s Syndrome and “then try again”.
Richard Dawkins provoked fury from charities and attracted a backlash from Twitter users for suggesting it was “civilised” to abort children with Down's Syndrome because unborn babies do not have “human feelings”.
The Chief Executive of the Down’s Syndrome Association, Carol Boys, responded by saying the association did not regard Down’s Syndrome as a reason for termination and emphasised: “People with Down’s Syndrome can and do live full and rewarding lives and they also make a valuable contribution to our society.”
Sources:
Daily Mail
Telegraph
