{"id":221384,"date":"2020-04-05T14:18:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-05T19:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=221384"},"modified":"2020-04-04T18:04:11","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T23:04:11","slug":"sarah-refused-abort-terminal-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/sarah-refused-abort-terminal-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"She brings joy: Sarah refused to abort her daughter after a terminal diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Sarah St. Onge was elated when she learned she was pregnant, but the news of a terminal diagnosis caused doctors to deny the dignity of her preborn daughter, Beatrix.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Early in the pregnancy, problems began to occur. At nine weeks, medical professionals told St. Onge a miscarriage was inevitable. Then, a nuchal fold pregnancy test at 12 weeks detected signs of a possible genetic anomaly. By 16 weeks, Beatrix was tentatively diagnosed with Trisomy 13, a condition considered\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>incompatible with life<\/span><\/a>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The diagnosis ended the conversation about treatment options. But St. Onge had already prepared herself for the possibility of Trisomy 13, and she still intended to carry Beatrix. This perplexed a genetic counselor who had referred to the baby as a product of conception, and the genetic counselor asked if St. Onge understood she would not be taking her child home if she chose to carry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Couple refuses abortion for daughter who would die at birth<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The results of the amniocentesis came back, and no genetic defects were found. St. Onge was full of hope as Beatrix continued to astound doctors with her rapid growth despite the development of some new fetal anomalies. But then a 26-week ultrasound diagnosed St. Onge\u2019s baby with <\/span>Limb Body Wall Complex (LBWC)<\/span><\/a>, a fatal condition with few known survivors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The prognosis was poor, but St. Onge continued with care. An ultrasound had allowed her to experience the miracle of her unborn daughter, clearly alive inside of her womb. Though not yet born, St. Onge knew Beatrix was already a unique person, and she loved her. But the doctors only saw her as a lesser patient.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo them, she really was just a failed pregnancy – so why not just clean everything up so we could just try again?\u201d St. Onge said, recalling how one doctor laughed at her for being \u201ctenacious\u201d when she begged them to try something, sharing research she had found about survivors of LBWC. \u201cTo them, it really is just a clump of cells… they don\u2019t believe it\u2019s worth the trouble if you\u2019re not bringing home a baby.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beatrix never opened her eyes, nor did she cry when she was born at 34 weeks. The doctors had emphasized the supposedly monstrous nature of Beatrix\u2019s deformities, but St. Onge only saw the tiny hands, feet, and beautiful face of her sweet baby girl. Beatrix\u2019s life on this earth was short, but St. Onge and her husband used what precious little time they had to parent her so her first and final moments in this world could be filled with love.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo via She Brings Joy Facebook<\/p><\/div>\n

Beatrix passed away peacefully in the arms of the mother who had carried her and kept her safe. Intermixed with these precious moments of celebrating her daughter\u2019s short life was terrible treatment from medical professionals. St. Onge and her husband were not offered perinatal hospice care, which would\u2019ve granted them more time with Beatrix. Not even being able to bathe and dress their child, Beatrix left the hospital covered in blood and birth fluids.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI will never get over that…we were denied the opportunity to bring her some dignity in death,\u201d St. Onge said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Voices like St. Onge\u2019s often remain unheard in the ensuing debate regarding later abortions. While <\/span>evidence<\/span><\/a> suggests most are done for social reasons, in the case of fatal diagnosis, St. Onge has observed a euthanasia mindset being used to justify them. Unfortunately, according to St. Onge, women who choose abortion in this case view what they\u2019re doing as disconnecting their child from life-support, as this is how their doctors tend to phrase it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen even pro-life people find terminating for fetal anomalies acceptable, it\u2019s difficult for those of us who have carried to term – and lost our children – to find a platform out there,\u201d St. Onge said of the silence surrounding Beatrix\u2019s story. \u201cThe opportunities for carry to term moms whose children die\u2014\u00a0and who have a lot to say about the dignity our children are entitled to\u2014 just don\u2019t arise as often.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The extensive political clout surrounding the issue, as well as changing attitudes towards <\/span>assisted suicide<\/span><\/a>, have made it difficult for the humanity of children like Beatrix to be acknowledged. As St. Onge noted, politicians like Democratic <\/span>Mayor Peter Buttigieg<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>Rep. Josie Raymond<\/span><\/a> exploit people\u2019s fears. Our society, she said, has rejected the idea of there being value in suffering, and our concerns about bodily autonomy have shifted towards attempting to redefine death by our own terms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aborting<\/span><\/a> a child after an <\/span>adverse diagnosis<\/span><\/a> cannot mitigate <\/span>grief<\/span><\/a>. There is a difference, St. Onge said, between actively ending someone\u2019s life and permitting nature to take its course. A loss still occurs, but carrying to term preserves the intrinsic value of the child by commemorating the preciousness of the baby\u2019s life, no matter how short it may be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Editor’s Note: Previously, Live Action News reprinted a piece written by Sarah St. Onge about her daughter. You can read it here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLike\u201d Live Action News on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0for more pro-life news and commentary!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah St. Onge was elated when she learned she was pregnant, but the news of a terminal diagnosis caused doctors to deny the dignity of her preborn daughter, Beatrix.\u00a0\u00a0 Early in the pregnancy, problems began to occur. At nine weeks, medical professionals told St. Onge a miscarriage was inevitable. Then, a nuchal fold pregnancy test […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":617,"featured_media":221385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077,9455],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nShe brings joy: Sarah refused to abort her daughter after a terminal diagnosis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aborting a child after a diagnosis cannot mitigate grief. 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