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18-year-old with Down’s syndrome campaigns to end discriminatory abortion law

A teenage activist with Down’s syndrome from Berkshire is campaigning to change the abortion law in the UK after learning that a baby can be aborted up to birth if diagnosed with a disability.

Millie Prelogar, 18, was “shocked” and “offended” when she discovered that, whilst abortion is legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy in most cases, abortion for disability is permitted up to birth in the UK. This includes conditions such as Down’s syndrome, cleft palate or club foot.

She said “Do you think I’d be better off if I had never been born?” and added “Having Down’s Syndrome is no big deal. We can do anything we set our minds to with just a little extra help and support”.

She said this to the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, when she met him after his appointment on 24 October.

Millie is now campaigning for the Abortion Act to be amended, saying “At first I was shocked and then I felt offended that the current abortion law discriminates against people like me, this reinforces negative stereotypes and questions the value and dignity of my life. I want the appeal judges to get rid of section 1(1)(d) of the Abortion Act so foetuses with disabilities are treated the same as all other foetuses”.

With the assistance of the charity, Positive About Down Syndrome, which launched the ‘You-Can’t-Put-Me-Down Syndrome’ campaign, Millie wants these laws to be more widely known. Millie says that many people have the misconception “that people with Down’s Syndrome can’t live happy, productive and fulfilled lives”, but through her campaign, she wants to show that this isn’t true.

Abortion law discriminates against people with disabilities, court hears 

Earlier this year, the Court of Appeal heard a landmark case against the UK Government over its discriminatory abortion laws after a judge granted permission for the case to be heard.

Heidi Crowter, 27, from Coventry, who herself has Down’s syndrome, challenged the Government over a disability clause in its abortion legislation, together with Máire Lea-Wilson from Brentford, west London, who was placed under pressure to have an abortion when a 34-week scan revealed her son Aidan, now three, had Down’s syndrome.

The outcome of the Court of Appeal hearing is not yet known.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “The discrimination against people with Down’s syndrome and other disabilities is on clear display in our abortion laws. The law unambiguously says that their lives do not matter as much as others. Hopefully, Millie and Heidi’s work will highlight this glaring injustice and help change the law”.

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Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight the next phase of our battles against major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.

Dear reader,

We are facing two major threats in the Lords - an extreme assisted suicide Bill and an abortion up to birth amendment.

THE GOOD NEWS - OUR STRATEGY IS WORKING

At Second Reading of the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the House of Lords, a record number of Peers spoke, and of those who took a position, around two-thirds opposed the assisted suicide Bill. That is more than double the number who supported it.

Our side also secured a significant win, with the establishment of a dedicated Lords Select Committee to further scrutinise the Bill’s proposals – and Committee Stage has been delayed until it reports.

This momentum has been built by tens of thousands of people like you. Thanks to your hard work, Peers are receiving a very large number of emails and letters by post, making the case against the Bill. 

Thanks to your support, we have been able to mount a major campaign in Parliament, in the media and online – alongside your own efforts – to keep us on course for our goal: that this dangerous Bill never becomes law.

BUT MORE CHALLENGES LIE AHEAD

We cannot become complacent. Well-funded groups - Dignity in Dying, My Death My Decision and Humanists UK - have poured millions into pushing assisted suicide. They can see support is slipping and will fight hard to reverse that.

This is not the only fight we are facing in the House of Lords.

At the same time, the Antoniazzi abortion up to birth amendment, which passed in the House of Commons in June, is moving through the House of Lords as part of the Crime and Policing Bill.

Second Reading will take place in a matter of weeks. It will then go on to Committee and Report Stages, where we will be up against the UK’s largest abortion providers – BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes) – who are expected to lobby for even more extreme changes to our abortion laws.

If the Antoniazzi amendment becomes law, it would no longer be illegal for women to perform their own abortions for any reason – including sex-selective purposes – at any point up to and during birth.

Thousands of vulnerable lives - at the beginning and the end of life - depend on what happens next. We must do everything in our power to stop these radical proposals.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign against the Leadbeater Bill in the House of Lords is working, but the work we have already done has significantly stretched our limited resources.

We are now stepping up our efforts against the assisted suicide Bill while launching a major push to stop the abortion up to birth amendment in the Lords. 

To fight effectively on both fronts, we aim to raise £183,750 by midnight this Sunday (5 October 2025).

Every donation, large or small, will help protect lives, and UK taxpayers can add 25p to every £1 through Gift Aid at no extra cost.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these two major threats?

URGENT
APPEAL
to protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Help fight the next phase of our battles against major assisted suicide and abortion up to birth threats.