Tag: childbirth

The chilling words recounted

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ultrasoundGretchen Naugle, wife of Desiring God resources director Lukas Naugle, recounts at A Beautiful Work a disturbing episode in her life:

This month marks a strange anniversary of sorts for me. It was 2 years ago this month that I was sitting in a chair looking at my unborn baby in 4D. She was precious! We had previously found out that our baby had several “markers” for down syndrome and had enlarged kidneys which may have required surgery upon birth. Thus we were monitored more carefully and had a ton more ultrasound shots at a hospital. This was the first level 3 ultrasound with this pregnancy (I had had one with my 3rd with no problems). I got to gaze upon my baby for almost a full hour – it was wonderful! I was there alone as my husband was out of town. The specialist doctor called me in after the ultrasound to go over the findings. The first words out of his mouth to me were “Well you will have to come in tomorrow for your abortion because of how far along you are.” I was utterly shocked and devastated. All I could do was mutter “What??????” He then proceeded to tell me that my baby had more “markers” for down syndrome and it didn’t look good. I was more shocked that his automatic assumption was that I would abort my baby. I almost couldn’t comprehend what he was telling me in that office. All I wanted to do was run as far away from that man as possible.

Read the rest of the post to see that, unfortunately, Gretchen’s encounter is not that uncommon for women with babies diagnosed with Down syndrome.

Reuniting victim with potential killer

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This is bizarre:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) – A woman who gave birth in mid-air left the baby behind when she disembarked in Auckland, Television New Zealand reported Thursday.

Police and Pacific Blue — the airline which operated the flight from the Samoan capital Apia — were saying little about their investigation Thursday, but mother and child were said to be recovering in hospital.

Television New Zealand reported that the Samoan woman gave birth in one of the aircraft’s toilets during the flight to Auckland early Thursday.

The infant was found by an airline worker in the toilet rubbish bin more than an hour after the plane landed.

And then comes the troubling part:

Pacific Blue’s website says women need medical clearance to board a flight if they have passed the 36-week mark in their pregnancy.

“We are relieved to have been informed that both mother and child are reunited, are well and are now being looked after in hospital,” the airline said in a statement.

It’s good that the woman and child are being treated at the hospital, but is anyone else concerned that this child, which miraculously survived a murder attempt, is now reunited with the person who sought to end the child’s life?

Be a Voice for Life

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   The week of Jan. 20-27 is Sanctity of Human Life Week, marking the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions that legalized abortion in the United States.

   In that time, millions of babies have been murdered in our country in what has been one of the greatest tragedies in history. This year, when we will elect a leader in the United States, there will be much talk about abortions and politics. How much of an issue should it be? Perhaps the best way to answer that is to ask yourself another question: How much do you know about abortion? Those wanting more education can go here for more information.
   And if you say, “Well, that’s just one issue, should it dictate who I vote for?” then I’d suggest reading this, especially if you call yourself a Christian.
   Here is just one excerpt from that article that I’ll share with you:

No endorsement of any single issue qualifies a person to hold public office. Being pro-life does not make a person a good governor, mayor, or president. But there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from public office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, no matter what his party or platform was. Or a person who endorsed corporate fraud (say under $50 million) would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said that no black people could hold office—on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said that rape is only a misdemeanor—that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office.

   This isn’t just a once-a-year kind of issue. This is something that happens every day in our society. It’s too big to ignore. Make your voice heard. There is no middle ground.