Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed “Hudson’s Law” into effect on March 18, requiring doctors to provide accurate and up-to-date information to parents of children who have been diagnosed with Down syndrome in the womb. The goal is to help give parents accurate information on what it’s like to raise a child with Down syndrome and what it’s like to live with Down syndrome so they will not feel pressured to abort based on outdated and inaccurate information.
Named for a two-year-old Mississippi boy with Down syndrome, Hudson Hartman, the law is also known as the Down Syndrome Information Act. According to the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), Hudson and his mother Mika were lobbyists for the Life Equality Act, legislation Reeves signed into law last summer to ban discriminatory abortions based on race, sex, disability, or genetic makeup.
READ: Why do abortion advocates oppose giving parents of children with Down syndrome accurate information?
“We thank Governor Reeves for signing Hudson’s Law and for his strong pro-life leadership in Mississippi,” said SBA List State Policy Director Sue Liebel. “This law goes hand in hand with the Life Equality Act and will serve as an important check to ensure that doctors are empowering parents of children who have Down syndrome with accurate information and resources. Parents deserve to know that 99% of people with Down syndrome live happy and fulfilled lives. No child should be deprived of the right to be born, especially due to a disability — this is no less than modern-day eugenics.”
A recent Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll found that 70% of Americans — including 56% of those who consider themselves to be pro-choice, 59% of Democrats, and 70% of Independents — oppose abortion based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome. Despite this, parents who are told their preborn children have Down syndrome often face intense pressure to abort. One mother recounted being urged six times to abort her twin babies with Down syndrome.
According to one study, only 11% of women reported having had a positive diagnosis experience. A separate survey of doctors revealed that at least 13% purposely overemphasize the negative aspects of life with Down syndrome in an effort to pressure women into abortions.
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