The Rev. Joanna Jepson, an Anglican curate, asked the courts to investigate the 2001 abortion of a 28-week-old fetus with a cleft lip and palate.The Rev. Joanna Jepson, an Anglican curate CURATE, eccl. law. One who represents the incumbent of a church, person, or20 vicar, and takes care of the church, and performs divine service in his stead. , asked the courts to investigate the 2001 abortion of a 28-week-old fetus with a cleft lip and palate Cleft Lip and Palate Definition A cleft is a birth defect that occurs when the tissues of the lip and/or palate of the fetus do not fuse very early in pregnancy. . English law The system of law that has developed in England from approximately 1066 to the present. The body of English law includes legislation, Common Law, and a host of other legal norms established by Parliament, the Crown, and the judiciary. permits abortion after the 24th week only in cases of children with a "serious handicap." Two doctors decided that the condition was serious, but the Reverend Jepson has reason to disagree. She was born with a jaw defect, and her brother has Down syndrome Down syndrome, congenital disorder characterized by mild to severe mental retardation, slow physical development, and characteristic physical features. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 730 live births and occurs in all populations equally. , yet both of them, she believes, have led full and satisfying lives. "The baby in this case did not have this opportunity." The courts have now dismissed the Reverend Jepson's complaint, recalling another Anglican, C. S. Lewis, who argued that mankind's power over nature, if it were ever achieved, would mean the power of one generation over all who followed. |
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