{"id":273957,"date":"2022-08-12T08:41:48","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T13:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=273957"},"modified":"2022-08-11T16:40:27","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T21:40:27","slug":"catholic-couple-hell-give-birth-disabled-baby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/catholic-couple-hell-give-birth-disabled-baby\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-professed Catholic couple: We’d rather go to hell than give birth to our disabled baby"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A couple who claims to be Catholic has gone on a media tour about their decision to have an abortion, which they justified due to their child’s disability.<\/p>\n

Breanna O’Brien told Good Morning America<\/a> (GMA) that she was 20 weeks pregnant when she and her husband, Kyle, learned their son had two serious disabilities: Xeroderma pigmentosum group D (XPD) and Trichothiodystrophy (TTD). XPD is an autosomal recessive \u2014 meaning inherited \u2014 disorder which results in severe sun sensitivity, and can result in a higher likelihood of cancer in the areas where the skin is exposed to the sun. There is also the possibility of hearing loss, poor coordination, loss of intellectual function and seizures. While there is no cure, the life expectancy for people with XPD in the United States is approximately 40 years. TTD is also an autosomal recessive condition, and causes dry, brittle skin, cloudy eyes, skeletal abnormalities, and abnormalities of the fingernails and toenails. It can also cause further sensitivity to the sun. Depending on the severity, the life expectancy for children with TTD can be as short as three years.<\/p>\n

Our son would have a “very low quality of life”<\/strong><\/p>\n

O’Brien further explained<\/a> some of the details of her son’s disabilities in a public Facebook post. “He\u2019d be lucky\u2014exceptionally lucky\u2014to live past 10. He\u2019d have a 10,000 fold increase in his risk for cancer, with most sufferers getting their first cancer before the age of 9,” she said, adding:<\/p>\n

Finn would not only be unable to go outdoors without essentially NASA-grade equipment that then deprives him of feeling the wind\u2019s breeze, but he wouldn\u2019t be able to go to grocery stores, malls, schools, or many other indoor venues that use fluorescent lights, which emit UV rays. <\/em><\/p>\n

In other words, he\u2019d be less allergic to the sun than allergic to anything but a blacked out home \u2014 a prison.<\/em><\/p>\n

If that wasn\u2019t enough, my husband\u2019s recessive gene comes with the highest likelihood of severe neurological degeneration and my gene \u2014 well my recessive gene is a mutation recorded in only 2 other cases… ever… in the world. This means he\u2019d likely have the cognition of a toddler *for his entire life*. And that\u2019s the best case.<\/em><\/p>\n

All of this is to say: Finn would have a very low quality of life. A quality of life we\u2019d wish on no one \u2014 not even our worst enemy.<\/em><\/p>\n

“If I bring Finn into this world, it seems selfish,” she told GMA. “Like, I’m bringing him into the world just so I can hold him and love on him in the very few short years that he has. But those years will be cruel. He’s stuck in a prison in our house. He can’t be with friends. He is immunocompromised.”<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Woman in India allowed to get a full-term abortion due to child\u2019s disability<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

She added that she was willing to risk those things, but said it wouldn’t be fair to Finn to allow him to be born. Additionally, she explained that, though they both grew up Catholic, she always considered herself pro-choice; however, she said she would never have made that decision herself.<\/p>\n

“And then when you’re actually faced with the reality, it went against everything I believed in,” she said. “And you make a decision that’s completely contrary, but I know was the best for my baby.”<\/p>\n