Symposium on the Law of Fetuses and Individuals with Down Syndrome

The Online Symposium on the Law of Fetuses and Individuals with Down Syndrome, of which our University is a stakeholder, was successfully held on 26 November 2022.

The symposium opened with speeches by Istanbul Member of Parliament Serkan Bayram, Mayor of Avcılar District of Istanbul Turan Hançerli, self-advocate Barış Kelleci and Ertunç Mega, and was organized in four sessions.

The first session, moderated by Şaziye Senem Başgül, faculty member at Hasan Kalyoncu University, approached Down syndrome from the perspectives of lived experience and clinical condition and touched on research into genetic treatment. It also addressed parenting a child with Down syndrome, the theory of mind of these children and individuals, and a holistic approach to the issue.

The second session, moderated by Prof. Dr. Nur Centel, faculty member at Koç University Faculty of Law, examined Court of Cassation decisions concerning the failure to detect Down syndrome during pregnancy and the duty to inform. The session also discussed the termination of pregnancy in the case of a fetus with Down syndrome under Turkish, German and Belgian law.

The third session, moderated by Prof. Dr. Fulya İlçin Gönenç, Dean of our Faculty of Law, examined human rights, labor law and special needs reports in relation to children with Down syndrome. The session also addressed the duty to inform in the prenatal screening and diagnosis of Down syndrome, as well as expert testimony in Down syndrome-related cases.

The fourth and final session, moderated by Prof. Dr. Nur Zeliha Kaman, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Istanbul Medeniyet University, explored legal ethics specifically in Down syndrome cases, along with the ethical issues arising at the stages of diagnosis and termination of fetuses with Down syndrome and the eugenics debates surrounding the topic.

The symposium concluded with closing remarks by Ertunç Mega on behalf of the organizing committee.