A date has been set for the country’s abortion laws to be reviewed at the High Court. 

Campaigners, Heidi Crowter and Maire Lea Wilson, are challenging the government over current abortion laws which allows abortions up until birth.

As it currently stands, there is a 24-week time limit for abortion unless ‘there is a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped, this includes if the baby has a disability, down’s syndrome, cleft lip or club foot.

Maire Lea Wilson, 32, from Brentford, West London, whose son has Down syndrome has been actively campaigning in a bid to raise money to cover legal costs so they can have their day in court., they have currently raised over £90,000.

When she was 34-weeks pregnant, Maire was told her son would be born with Down syndrome and was immediately given the option to terminate by doctors.

She said: “It was a traumatic conversation. It felt like our world had ended. Everything they were telling us about Down syndrome felt so negative and I thought my life was going to be completely over.”

Maire found the news incredibly difficult, she said “The things that rushed through my head were awful, like have I ruined my older son’s life? will I ever be able to go back to work?, will we ever go on holidays?, will he be able to walk and talk? I had this preconception about Down syndrome which I was getting fed by these doctors.”

When speaking about her son and the life he has now, Maire said: “Aiden’s great, we do everything any other family might do, it’s the same level of chaos. There are things that Aiden goes through, like he has to have a few more medical appointments so there’s some challenges but there’s other ways where he’s easier than his older brother.”

Emily Saer, a 29-year-old woman from Carmarthen, was born premature which caused her to have cerebral palsy. When Emily found out about the current clause in the abortion law, she said she was disgusted.

She said: “I think it’s completely wrong. It’s not easy having a disability, it is hard and you do get treated differently but you can do everything everyone else does, just in different sort of ways, there’s no reason why foetus

“People are very ignorant to people with disabilities. Like for the gym for example, I never thought I’d be able to do anything like that but over the years I’ve adapted and learnt things differently. I can do it just as well as anyone else, it just looks a little bit different and unusual but it still works and I can still achieve exactly what an able bodied person can.

The case is set to be heard on the 6th and 7th of July.