We recognise the concerns that the introduction of offering non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) could have on the rate of possible terminations following a diagnosis of Down\u2019s Syndrome. However, the key objective of NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (FASP) is to enable prospective parents to make informed choices, at each step along the screening pathway. The screening guidance and midwife training is very clear that the options should be offered sensitively and prospective parents decisions respected. Counselling is available at all stages of the screening pathway to support people to make informed choices in the event of a fetal abnormality being detected, and the decision to terminate must rest on the judgement of the woman herself and her doctors.<\/p>
The national introduction of the evaluative roll out of NIPT as a contingent screening test is yet to be implemented into the NHS FASP. Once NIPT is rolled out, data on the choices women make regarding screening and/or diagnosis will be collected. Data will also be collected on the pregnancy outcomes of women who choose to have screening, and about babies born with Down\u2019s syndrome.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4399", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Victoria Atkins"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Louth and Horncastle"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Victoria Atkins"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-02-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-02-18T16:10:02.587Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "31"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Women and Equalities"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Women and Equalities"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-02-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Down's Syndrome: Abortion"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government Equalities Office is taking steps to (a) tackle the 90 per cent termination rate following a prenatal diagnosis of Down's syndrome and (b) assess the effect of that rate on the community of people with Down\u2019s syndrome; and if she will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3958", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Fiona Bruce"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Congleton"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Fiona Bruce"} ], "uin" : "217546"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 1, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }