I am absolutley disgusted with what I have read. As the mother of a nine month old baby who was born with club feet (and whose feet are know corrected as she has been treated using the Ponsetti method) I feel totally ashamed that there are people in this country who choose not to have a child just because their feet are not perfect. My daughter is absolutely georgous and gives us great pleasue. Her club feet have not prevented her from achieving any milestones and will not prevent her from achieving anything that she want in the future.
We knew that she had club feet at my 20 week scan and were offered an amnio to ckeck for other abnomalities - someting which I refused.
I don't know how these people can sleep at night knowing what they have done.

RJ, Manchester,

It's a bit obvious that doctors are putting the costs of corrective surgery before children's lives. Whether that is because hospital managers are putting pressure on them or not remains to come to light. Eventually a brave doctor will come forward with the truth.

Holding back information about corrective surgery, or being negative about it, is tantamount to encouraging a mother to go ahead with an abortion. In these circumstances, no doctor needs to pretend to themselves that somehow they have been impartial, because their soul knows otherwise.

Doctors should not concern themselves with the future cost of any child to the NHS, it’s not their place. If it has become a consideration then they should re-look at their own life and its value to the whole of humanity.

Carol, Midlands, UK

As a father of a beautiful and wonderful disabled daughter (Cerebral palsy) I have found for years the attitude of many people in the UK towards the aborting of babies because they are disabled utterly incomprehensible. No other group would receive such discrimination – it is thankfully illegal to discriminate on the grounds of race, sex etc – but when it comes to the disabled, often the most vulnerable in society, much of society blindly adopts what I can only say are Nazi-like views.

Clive Wright, Lichfield, Staffordshire

My mother was told that my sister would have spina bifida, and ecouraged to abort her. She felt pressurised into making this decision, and was told by the doctors that she was "a foolish girl" for "burdening" herself with a disabled child. She went ahead with the pregnancy nonetheless, and gave birth to a perfectly healthy girl. This may have been an unusual case, but as aborted foetuses aren't generally tested for abnormalities it's impossible to say.

Paul Chegworth, Oxfordshire,

Let's not be afraid to call this what it is--- murder of a defenseless human being.

Connie , New Orleans,

The notion that the right to the title 'human' and therefore the right to life should be defined by a baby's ability to survive independently is utterly misguided. Such desperately selfish thinking is sadly not unique in the history of mankind. The Jewish people could be exterminated because they were classified as sub-human by their exterminators. The Slave Traders could sleep at night even within earshot of the screams of their captives because they were no more than 'animals'. To dispose of unborn babies as unwanted commodities is simply evil.

Peter Sherwood, Ripon, UK

My daughter's baby was diagnosed with a two vessel cord and polydactyly at the 20 week scan in Hong Kong. The word "termination" was mentioned at the time but, after recovering from the shock, she decided to seek a second opinion in the UK. One of the consultants she saw was Tim Overton and his staff at St Michael's Hospital in Bristol. He confirmed the findings in HK and carefully explained that indeed this could be indicative of other problems. After seeking further advice from two genetic specialists and another foetal consultant in London (and by this time having the results of the amnio test), she and her husband decided to go ahead with the pregnancy. Her son was born on the 17th October, perfectly healthy and, yes, with the additional toe on each foot which she is told can be safely and easily removed within his first year. The moral to the story is - seek all the advice you can from as many specialists as it takes before taking such a radical step.

New Granny, HK & Isle of Wight, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, United Kingdon

My son was born with a club foot . We didn't know he had this abnormality until he arrived, but it was picked up immediately by the doctor and first thing the next morning the consultant was in giving him a correcting programme of physio. This proved not to be successful and ended with an operation at 10 months which worked perfectly.Twenty years on , he is a university student with a bright future and a lovely human being, how would we ever have considered not having him?

Eva, Newbury, UK

If we maintain that it is logical to abort babies with minimal abnormalities like cleft lip and palate where does this leave us in the future. What will we define as 'inconvenient' in the future - some people dont like ginger hair, large noses, short legs.... the list is endless.

oliver, edinburgh, uk

My daughter was born with a club foot and she has undergone major surgery a number of times over the last 8 years, but I am so glad that she is here. I was offered an abortion when I found out about her condition, but decided as it was not life threatening it was a ridiculous idea. What makes a 'perfect human being' anyway? Who are we to decide?

Catherine, chippenham, wiltshire