Legal papers will be lodged with the High Court next week and a judge will then decide if this landmark case will proceed to trial.
Mum of baby with Down's syndrome suing UK government over discriminatory abortion law
The mother of an 11-month old baby with Down's syndrome is suing the UK government for allowing abortion of babies with the condition up to the point of birth. Under UK law, babies found to have a disability in the womb can legally be killed without time limit. In Northern Ireland, the new abortion regime imposed by Westminster also allows abortion up to birth where the unborn child has a condition, ranging from Down's Syndrome to Cleft Lip. 90% of unborn children with Down's Syndrome are routinely aborted in the UK.
Now Marie Lea-Wilson is highlighting the barbaric practise of disability-selective abortion. The mother says that she was encouraged at 34-weeks to abort her son, Aidan, who is now almost one-year-old. She says she felt the assumption was "that you would want to abort a child with Down's syndrome".
Mrs Lea-Wilson said she "can't imagine life" without her son, and wants unborn children with Down's syndrome to have "equal rights".
"He's had some challenges and done so well so we're just really proud of him... I have two sons and I love and value them equally and I just think it seems really wrong that the law doesn't value them equally and we want to change that," she said.
Late-term abortion of babies with Down's Syndrome in the UK
Mrs Lea-Wilson painted an overwhelmingly negative picture of her time in hospital expecting her son, and said that she was offered a late-term abortion.
"The first thing that they wanted to talk about (in hospital) was whether we wanted to terminate the pregnancy, and I was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, so it was quite a difficult question to get asked.
"It is really tough to think back on that, I find it really difficult to think that Aidan's life isn't seen as valuable as his older brother's, it makes me worry as to whether he'll be seen the same or treated the same."
'Downright Discrimination'
Mrs Lea-Wilson has teamed up with disability rights advocate Heidi Crowter, a 24-year old with Down's Syndrome. She says that the law as it stands makes her feel "rejected by society".
She said: "I think this (cause) is really important because it's downright discrimination.
"We are all equally valued and I am someone who has Down's syndrome and it makes me feel upset, rejected by society and looked down on. It makes me feel like I shouldn't exist in this world."
Echoing Heidi's remarks, Mrs Lea-Wilson said, "I also really worry that when he's older if this law is still in place, how will that make him feel: that he's not as valuable, that he doesn't have equal worth?"
Ann Furedi, chief of Britain's largest abortion provider, BPAS, has consistently defended the practise of late-term abortion for disabilities. Ms Furedi has consistently said that aborting a child with a disability, at any stage, saying that it should "always be the woman's choice."
"It's not a matter of somebody else making the decision for us and so when a woman thinks that ending the pregnancy is the right thing for her and her family, I really strongly believe that should be her decision to make," she has said.
Precious Life's 'Repeal Section 9' Campaign aims to repeal Northern Ireland's radical and discriminatory abortion law. You can SIGN our Petition HERE: https://www.citizengo.org/en-gb/node/177408