Rather than consulting with Down syndrome organizations or self-advocates, Emmerdale producers worked with Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) to craft the storyline.
But after a chorionic villus sampling (CVS) test shows their preborn child has Down syndrome, they decide to have an abortion.
Though people have reacted with outrage, ITV, which produces the show, has refused to scrap the storyline.Īccording to the BBC, the storyline will involve Laurel Thomas and Jai Sharma, who are originally thrilled when they get pregnant. :The storyline of long-running British soap opera Emmerdale will feature in an upcoming episode a couple choosing abortion because their son has Down syndrome. And for the sake of my daughter who has to grow up in a world that you are showing believes she will be better off dead.” For the sake of people with Down’s Syndrome who should not have to put up with this prejudice.
For the sakes of the parents who will be misled by this ableism. It is irresponsible, ignorant and prejudiced. She concluded, “I consider Emmerdale writing this storyline to influence the masses as a perpetuation of the embedded prejudice towards people with Down’s Syndrome that is a huge problem in our culture. Combined with that, we live in a country that has an NHS that does not have a care pathway for women expecting a child with Down’s Syndrome,” Mewes wrote. “It has shaken me to the core that a popular TV show watched by millions has sought to perpetuate the antiquated stereotyping, embedded and, often unconscious, prejudice combined with misleading information about Down’s Syndrome that is endemic in our society. Started by Rachel Mewes, a Down syndrome mom who regularly speaks out on behalf of her daughter, the petition slams the soap opera for refusing to consult anyone in the Down syndrome community. UPDATE, : A petition launched calling on Emmerdale to cancel its Down syndrome-abortion storyline has received over 20,000 signatures.
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