Sally Phillips is accused of making mums-to-be feel guilty over Down’s syndrome abortion

tunisante October 4, 2016

Sally Phillips featured in a BBC2 documentary about her child Olly, 12
She claims mothers with Down’s syndrome babies are often pressurised to terminate their pregnancy
The programme, A World Without Down’s Syndrome?, has sparked debate
Miss Phillips starred in Bridget Jones’s Diary and the BBC sitcom Miranda

Sam Greenhill Chief Reporter For The Daily Mail

Published:
18:38 EST, 2 October 2016

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Updated:
17:25 EST, 4 October 2016

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Actress Sally Phillips was accused yesterday of using her Down’s syndrome son to make expectant mothers feel guilty about abortion.

Those who find out they are carrying a baby with the condition are too often pressurised by doctors to terminate their pregnancy, she says in a BBC2 documentary about her child Olly, 12.

The programme, to be screened on Wednesday night, is provocatively titled A World Without Down’s Syndrome? and explores the rewards of parenting a disabled child.

Actress Sally Phillips (right) was accused yesterday of using her Down’s syndrome son Olly (left) to make expectant mothers feel guilty about abortion

The programme (pictured), to be screened on Wednesday night, is provocatively titled A World Without Down’s Syndrome? and explores the rewards of parenting a disabled child

But Miss Phillips, who starred in Bridget Jones’s Diary and played Tilly in the BBC sitcom Miranda, was accused of adding ‘an extra layer of difficulty’ for couples grappling with whether to terminate a pregnancy.

Jane Fisher, of the support group Antenatal Results and Choices, said: ‘It risks offering the suggestion to those who have decided (to have an abortion) that they have made the wrong decision.’

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The debate has been fuelled by a new test for Down’s syndrome, which tells pregnant women with 99 per cent accuracy whether their baby is likely to have the condition.

Known as NIPT and costing £280 to £900 at private clinics, it is expected to be introduced on the NHS, but some fear it will lead to a rise in abortions. Critics have also questioned links between companies selling the test and those promoting it, including Miss Fisher.

The debate has been fuelled by a new test for Down’s syndrome, which tells pregnant women with 99 per cent accuracy whether their baby is likely to have the condition. Miss Phillips is pictured meeting people with Down’s syndrome during the programme

Miss Phillips said having Olly is the best thing that ever happened to her and that she is concerned when people talk about the birth of a Down’s syndrome baby as ‘a disaster’

Miss Phillips said having Olly is the best thing that ever happened to her and that she is concerned when people talk about the birth of a Down’s baby as ‘a disaster’.

She added the prospect of a test that may lead to Down’s syndrome being eradicated was chilling. ‘There has never been an ethical debate about it,’ she said.

Jane Fisher, of the support group Antenatal Results and Choices, said: ‘It risks offering the suggestion to those who have decided (to have an abortion) that they have made the wrong decision’

Miss Fisher told The Observer yesterday: ‘No one is casting aspersions on Sally’s son or trying to invalidate his right to be here (but) it is too problematic to have one individual representing that choice.’

Miss Fisher was one of two maternity specialists – both with financial links to the industry selling NIPT – on a UK National Screening Committee panel that recommended the test’s introduction on the NHS.

Miss Fisher said: ‘There are five biotech companies that sponsor us. It is a tiny amount of money. We make it clear we are not promoting any individual product.’

Also on the panel was Professor Alan Cameron, who said he declared his involvement with NIPT, through his work at private clinics, and his position on the NSC was as vice-president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Miss Phillips, who starred in Bridget Jones’s Diary (pictured with Renee Zellweger), was accused of adding ‘an extra layer of difficulty’ for couples grappling with whether to terminate a pregnancy