{"id":245337,"date":"2021-05-18T15:40:32","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T20:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=245337"},"modified":"2021-05-18T17:18:52","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T22:18:52","slug":"richard-dawkins-wise-sensible-abort-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/richard-dawkins-wise-sensible-abort-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Dawkins doubles down: It is ‘wise and sensible’ to abort children with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Well-known atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has ignited controversy once again after a recent interview with the father of a child with Down syndrome. That father, Brendan O\u2019Connor, is a broadcaster for Irish public service broadcaster Raidi\u00f3 Teilif\u00eds \u00c9ireann (RTE), and hosts the Brendan O\u2019Connor Show on weekends. During an interview with Dawkins, O’Connor challenged him on his claim that choosing not<\/em> to abort babies with Down syndrome is immoral<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2014, a woman tweeted a question to Dawkins about what she should do if she learned she was pregnant with a child with Down syndrome, calling it a “real ethical dilemma.” Dawkins, however, was clear on what he thought should happen. “Abort it and try again,” he tweeted. “It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.” He doubled down further, negatively comparing people with Down syndrome to autistic people. “People on that spectrum have a great deal to contribute, Maybe even an enhanced ability in some respects,” he wrote. “DS not enhanced.”<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, many people were furious with Dawkins’ suggestion that it is immoral to bring a child with Down syndrome into the world. And years later, O’Connor was prepared to challenge him on that claim.<\/p>\n