Youth Defence has said that reports that up 50 per cent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome at Dublin's Rotunda maternity hospital are being aborted reveal the "ugly nature of the abortion business which is totally lacking in compassion."

Spokeswoman Rebecca Roughneen made her remarks as Fergal Malone, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Rotunda Hospital and the Royal College of Surgeons, confirmed the trend to The Irish Times when commenting on the findings of a UK study which revealed that more than 90 per cent of women in England and Wales who found out during screening they were carrying babies with Down syndrome had an abortion.

Youth Defence affiliate LifeAbility, said that the findings showed the need for organizations representing people with disabilities to make it clear that the first right was the right-to-life and that all other rights could only be obtained once that right was enshrined in law and protected.

“As we have said before, what’s the point in having wheelchair access if we don’t have the right to be born,” said spokesman Joe Kearney. “This is a disturbing finding.”