Pace Gasan – whose sister has Down Syndrome – urged the public to stop using people with the condition to justify “hindering the right to bodily autonomy”.

“People with Down Syndrome, because they are seen as ‘angels, cute and lovable’ are continuously stigmatised through these ‘discussions’,” she said.

“The focus shifts to the person with Down Syndrome rather than the debate on women’s rights and the many reasons why a woman would need an abortion.”

“Exaggerated claims of killing an 8-month old fetus with disability do nothing but scare people and trigger guilt in people and mothers of persons with disability.”

“The same tactics have been used during the discussion of pre-genetic testing for monogenic diseases – people with Down Syndrome were not included in the list of conditions, yet the pro-life lobby used them to block these discussions.”

Pace Gasan said it would be refreshing if women with disability, including those with Down Syndrome, are viewed as sexual beings in their own right “who may also benefit from access to abortion and broader sexual and reproductive rights.”

“I, as a woman with disability, a mother of a teenage girl with disability and sister to two young women with disability (one of who has Down Syndrome), a friend and colleague of many women, will continue to promote their full rights – whether its their right to freedom, safety, to have a family or to access health,” she said.