Written Testimony of Tara Sander Lee, Ph.D., on Prohibiting Prenatal Discrimination

In October  2021, Dr. Tara Sander Lee, Senior Fellow and Director of Life Sciences at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, testified in front of the Wisconsin Legislature, in both the House and Senate, on Assembly Bill 595 and Senate Bill 593 concerning prohibiting abortion solely based on the “race, color, national origin, ancestry, or sex of the unborn child or solely because the unborn child has been diagnosed with or has a potential diagnosis of Down syndrome or another congenital disability.” Dr. Sander Lee’s testimony focused on the science of prenatal screening and diagnosis of Down syndrome. In her testimony, she notes that many  forms of screening for Down syndrome, such as non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPS) that uses fetal DNA found in the mother’s blood, have low positive predictor values, and points to the need to use medical testing at the service of the patient: “There are significant medical advancements that use prenatal screens and tests to heal and not harm the developing baby.” She continued: “We need to consider these young individuals as equally valued human lives. Eliminating young lives is not the answer to eliminating disease and disability once a risk of the disorder is identified. Destroying the patient is not curative medicine. Such acts become a modern-day form of eugenics.”

To view Dr. Sander Lee’s testimony in PDF format, please see, Written Testimony of Tara Sander Lee, Ph.D., on Prohibiting Prenatal Discrimination

To learn more about Down syndrome and prenatal testing, please see, https://lozierinstitute.org/dive-deeper/down-syndrome/ 

(Dr. Tara Sander Lee testifying on AB 595 on Oct. 7, 2021)