Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect unborn babies with Down’s Syndrome.

The Department expects clinicians to take note of the Supporting women and their partners through prenatal screening for Down's syndrome, Edwards' syndrome and Patau's syndrome consensus statement published in an online only format by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives and the Society and College of Radiographers.

The consensus statement sets out that all medical professionals involved in the offer of prenatal screening should ensure that women are given results in a non-directive way; the offer of further tests is non-directive; women are signposted to relevant charities and organisations to support personal informed choice; and options following a higher chance result in a non-directive manner. The consensus statement explicitly states that parents whose babies have been identified as having a higher chance of having Down’s Syndrome who have decided to continue with their pregnancy should not have their decisions challenged or be pressured into changing their minds.