It is more common that abnormal fetuses are aborted in Iceland than in Norway reports the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV. About one half of Icelandic mothers-to-be choose to undergo tests for chromosomal defects in the fetuses compared to only 3% of Norwegian expectant mothers.
Four children with Downs-Syndrome are born, on average, in Iceland, every year. Although the tests are becoming more sophisticated and precise these births are not decreasing because women in Iceland are continually choosing to give birth later in life. The risk for chromosomal defects increases with age.
