Termination of Pregnancy

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At the IF conference in 2000, 270 people with Spina Bifida from all over the world gathered in Toulouse and adopted a resolution which stated that the quality of their life should not be a reason for abortion or euthanasia. This document was the basis for the IF policy document "The right to be different", accepted by all members of the General Meeting in 2002.

Based on this policy document, IF worked together with the Human Rights Committee for the European Disability Forum (EDF) on a European Resolution on prenatal diagnosis and termination of pregnancy for all disabilities. This resolution was unanimously accepted at the EDF General Meeting in Athens in 2003.

Literature

Dr. Carla Verpoorten, medical adviser to IF, prepared an extensive literature study (updated until 2000) on Termination of pregnancy when the unborn child has Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus.

Dr Carla Verpoorten describes the evolution in thinking and attitudes towards having a child with Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus in her 2001 paper When Liesje was born. The red file in her report questions society's tolerance and acceptance of people who are different.