Heidi Crowter is an English disability rights advocate. Crowter campaigns for the anti-abortion group Don't Screen Us Out, challenging the

Abortion Act 1967 The Abortion Act 1967 (c. 87) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that legalised abortion in Great Britain on certain grounds by registered practitioners, and regulated the tax-paid provision of such medical practices through the N ...

which she views as discriminatory against fetuses with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

Early life

Heidi Crowter was born to Liz and Steve Crowter. Soon after her birth, her parents discovered she had Down syndrome. Crowter has had

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

. She had cardiac surgery shortly after her birth. Crowter has two older brothers and a younger sister. At the age of 16, Crowter was a victim of

internet trolling In slang, a troll is a person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a internet forum, forum, a chat room, an Multiplayer video game, online video game) or who performs similar be ...

and harassment related to her Down syndrome.

Career

Crowter works at a hair salon in Coventry managing its social media accounts and working with children. Crowter is involved in the campaign Don't Screen Us Out. Crowter and two others sued the

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the s ...

alleging that the

was discriminatory by allowing for the abortion of fetuses with Down syndrome and other diagnoses until the time of birth. In September 2021, the case was rejected by judges. In March 2022 Crowter was given permission to appeal the verdict on limited grounds. Her appeal was unanimously dismissed in November 2022. Crowter was honored as one of the

BBC 100 Women ''100 Women'' is a BBC multi-format series established in 2013. The annual series examines the role of women in the 21st century and has included events in London and Mexico. Announcement of the list is the start of an international "BBC's wome ...

in December 2022.

Personal life

Crowter is a Christian. She met her future husband, James Carter, online in 2017. They were engaged in 2018. In 2020, Crowter married James Carter downs at Hillfields Church in Coventry.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowter, Heidi British disability rights activists English women activists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Activists from Coventry People with Down syndrome English people with disabilities Year of birth missing (living people) British activists with disabilities English anti-abortion activists