Welby: 'My wife felt pressured to have an abortion'

Archbishop Justin Welby has revealed that his wife felt pressured to have an abortion by hospital staff.

The Archbishop said it was “expected” that his wife Caroline would abort her baby if a disability test came back postive.

He added that staff brought up the cost of raising a child with a disability when advising him and his wife on their decision.

Speaking about his daughter Ellie, who has dyspraxia, the Archbishop told the Church of England's General Synod:

“Before [Ellie] was born, during the pregnancy, there was some concern and a test was offered, but it was made very, very clear to my wife that if the test was taken and proved positive, it would be expected that we ask for a termination. It was not a neutral process, because they said it’s expensive".

He added: “She’s precious because she’s wonderful, she’s kind, she is someone who gets cross and gets happy and gets sad. She’s not that severely disabled. She’s been chucked off a bus, or tried to be on one occasion, by a ticket inspector who didn’t believe that her disability card was genuine.”

The Archbishop’s comments came during a motion on disabled children put forward by an archdeacon from Liverpool.

Ven Pete Spiers challenged the assumption that bringing a disabled child into the world is a tragedy.

And he urged healthcare providers to improve the support they give to the parents and families of disabled children.

He also implored the Church better affirm the human dignity of disabled children by offering better advice and support to parents and families.