{"id":286647,"date":"2023-03-11T15:37:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T21:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=286647"},"modified":"2023-03-13T14:39:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T19:39:04","slug":"abortion-prenatal-diagnosis-tennessee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/abortion-prenatal-diagnosis-tennessee\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion is not compassionate or necessary for babies with a prenatal diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

A recent article for the Daily Beast complained that a woman whose child received a prenatal diagnosis would not be able to get an abortion because she lives in Tennessee, where virtually all preborn children are protected from the deadly procedures. The mother’s health is not at risk, but due to the prenatal diagnosis, the baby is predicted to either be stillborn or die shortly after birth.<\/p>\n

However, a baby’s diagnosis does not mean a woman actually needs<\/em>\u00a0an induced abortion.<\/p>\n

Allie Phillips told the Daily Beast<\/a> about her heartbreaking pregnancy; at a 19-week scan, she discovered the baby’s brain had not fully developed, due to a rare congenital defect known as holoprosencephaly<\/a> (HPE). Phillips’ baby also has a two-chambered heart instead of four, and problems with the kidney and the bladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt all the blood just leave my face and my heart sank to the back of my chest and I just felt numb. I was still there physically, but my mind just kind of left,” Phillips told the Daily Beast, adding, \u201cI came back to my body. I immediately began crying, like out loud crying. \u201cI asked, \u2018Is there any treatment?\u2019 She said, \u2018Unfortunately, there\u2019s nothing that can fix all these defects.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Walgreens<\/a><\/p>\n

Her doctor seemingly recommended abortion but added that it wasn’t an option in Tennessee. So Phillips said she and her husband traveled to New York for an abortion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn abortion is a procedure. It doesn\u2019t matter if there\u2019s a heartbeat,” she said, later adding, “Banning abortions doesn\u2019t stop them. It bans safe abortions and makes it nearly impossible for some women to receive life-saving care. Women will die because of these laws. Doesn\u2019t seem very pro-life if you ask me.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, her situation \u2014 described as a nightmare \u2014 continued as her baby lived inside of her. \u201cThere\u2019s little moves,\u201d she said. \u201cI can feel it.” But she is committed to moving forward with the abortion, simply because her daughter’s life will be short.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe risk having a stillborn or giving birth only for her to just die shortly after delivery,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to bring her into this world to suffer for an hour or two just so I can say I held her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Phillips did not undergo an abortion, as Miley died naturally before the procedure could take place.<\/p>\n

Phillips’ situation is unfathomably tragic. Yet knowing that a child may soon die does not make it acceptable to directly and intentionally kill her\u00a0now<\/em>.<\/p>\n

A child suffering from cancer, whose disease has become terminal, should not be actively killed because she only has a few days left to live. The only reason such a thing was considered acceptable in Phillips’ case is because her child was still in her womb. Yet, her child wasn’t any less human than a born child \u2014 her daughter was a living human person \u2014 but her location and size allowed her life to be disposable if her parents wished it, even as she moved and grew, and her heart continued to beat.<\/p>\n

The most common abortion procedure in the second trimester is a dilation and evacuation<\/a>, or D&E. This typically multi-day procedure involves the abortionist dismembering the child at a time when she can almost certainly feel pain<\/a>. A violent, painful death is not the more loving thing to do, and it doesn’t diminish the child’s suffering. It certainly isn’t necessary<\/em>. There is a demonstrable difference between violently, painfully ending a child’s life, and walking those final steps with her, so that her last moments are filled with love, peace, and comfort. Prenatal testing should be used to help parents prepare<\/a>, not to kill innocent children.<\/p>\n