{"id":262125,"date":"2022-02-07T12:46:54","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T18:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=262125"},"modified":"2022-02-07T00:09:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T06:09:18","slug":"trisomy-13-family-kindness-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/trisomy-13-family-kindness-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Trisomy 13 family who chose life for their son creates kindness project in his memory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trisomy 13 is a genetic condition similar to Down syndrome, in which the child has an extra chromosome. While Down syndrome \u2014\u00a0or Trisomy 21 \u2014\u00a0has an extra copy of the 21st chromosome, Trisomy 13 is an extra copy of the 13th, and it is considered to be a life-limiting condition. One Pennsylvania family was given a prenatal diagnosis of Trisomy 13, and refused pressure from doctors to have an abortion. Now, they are keeping their son’s memory alive with efforts to give back to others.<\/p>\n

Kiara Bollinger was given the diagnosis at three months pregnant, and in the worst possible way. Her son, Evan, was said to be “incompatible with life,” and doctors pressured her to have an abortion.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first doctor was so, so cold and unfeeling in giving us the diagnosis,\u201d she said in an interview with Pregnancy Help News<\/a>. \u201cShe said two sentences about what she thought was wrong and then offered us an abortion.\u201d\u00a0The Bollinger family sought another doctor, who seemed kinder at first \u2014 but that quickly changed.<\/p>\n

“As it became apparent we would not be terminating the pregnancy, the doctors seemed to get frustrated with us,” she said. “On our third doctor switch, I decided they were all like that and I needed thicker skin and to assert myself. I advocated for myself and my son’s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later in the pregnancy, Bollinger went into what she thought was preterm labor, so she went to the emergency room, where she faced more negative attitudes. \u201cThe on-call OB\/GYN looked at my chart and immediately said to me, \u2018You know what its life expectancy is, right? Do you even want us to put it on the monitor?\u2019” she recalled, adding, \u201cIf I had chosen to terminate our pregnancy, at no point would a doctor been able to say they thought it was wrong. I hate the double standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Mom of baby with Trisomy 13: I have \u2018gratitude for being chosen to be Gabrielle\u2019s mother\u2019<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n