{"id":258774,"date":"2021-12-13T06:49:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T12:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=258774"},"modified":"2021-12-15T12:41:52","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T18:41:52","slug":"mom-daughter-trisomy-18-life-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/mom-daughter-trisomy-18-life-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom of daughter with Trisomy 18: ‘Her life matters. It may be different than ours, but it matters’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Harper Grace<\/span><\/a>\u00a0was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) while in utero. The doctors considered the condition \u201cincompatible with life,\u201d but despite the odds stacked against her, Harper is approaching her fifth birthday. While a quick internet search will tell you that most people with this diagnosis survive less than a few weeks after birth, more and more stories are surfacing of children defying these odds and living years \u2014\u00a0even tens of years \u2014with their families.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bella Santorum<\/span><\/a>, Faith Smith<\/a><\/span>, Melody Thenhaus<\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0and Kayden McClanahan<\/a><\/span>\u00a0are just a few names of children with Trisomy 18 whose parents have fought to give them a chance at life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Due to the difficulties involved involved in caring for a child with Trisomy 18, most doctors recommend abortion when the diagnosis is confirmed. They claim that there will be no quality of life, or even no life at all, despite what children like Harper are proving. But the fight for protection and life does not end at birth for these children. In a “Special Books by Special Kids<\/a>” video interview, Harper\u2019s mother discussed\u00a0the neglect and opposition Trisomy 18 children receive in hospitals:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not [given a fair chance]. Very few hospitals in the country are willing to provide full interventions to kiddos with her condition. There are many children that we know of that have been denied even basic human rights like a feeding tube to help them eat or a little bit of oxygen if they needed it, and these families were forced to take these kiddos home to die.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n