Pope Francis has condemned the "eugenicist" mindset behind increased rates of abortion of children with down-syndrome, saying that people with disabilities face an "attitude of rejection" in contemporary society.
The Pope's remarks were made at a conference on the inclusion of people with disabilities in parish life, held at the Vatican last weekend.
Addressing an audience of hundreds in the Clementine Hall, the Roman Pontiff said that the desire to "suppress the unborn who have some form of imperfection" was proof of a "eugenic tendency" within society, and he warned of the danger of trying to deny the inherent vulnerability of human beings:
"we all know so many people who, even with their fragility, have found...a good life that is rich in meaning...vulnerability is part of the essence of man".
Among the keynote speakers at the conference was down-syndrome American actress Bridget Brown , who warned attendees that she may be part of "the last generation of people with Down syndrome."
The conference comes in the wake of the release of data indicating that nearly 100% of babies with down syndrome were aborted in 2015 in countries such as Iceland and Denmark.