{"id":293173,"date":"2023-06-20T14:43:14","date_gmt":"2023-06-20T19:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=293173"},"modified":"2023-06-20T17:43:53","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T22:43:53","slug":"baby-abortion-diagnosis-anencephaly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/baby-abortion-diagnosis-anencephaly\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion is presented as the best answer to anencephaly, but parents need to know the truth"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A heartbreaking story<\/a> is circling the internet involving a young family and their preborn baby who received a diagnosis of anencephaly at 16 weeks. The couple chose abortion but said they had to leave their state of Louisiana in order to undergo the procedure. The story focuses on the pain of the parents but never explains what ‘terminating the pregnancy’ meant for the baby at the heart of the story.<\/p>\n

A diagnosis of anencephaly is devastating for parents. Anencephaly is a condition in which the skull doesn’t properly form, causing the brain to be exposed to amniotic fluids. Many children with anencephaly die within hours or weeks after birth, however, there is always hope for more time. Angela Morales, known as “Baby Angela” lived for two years and eight months with anencephaly \u2014 time her family called<\/a> “incredible” and “full of love and joy.” Many doctors will pressure parents to abort their children after such a diagnosis, and sadly, many parents are led to believe that abortion is their only choice.<\/p>\n

It isn’t.<\/p>\n

Couple chooses abortion for baby with anencephaly<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Lousiana couple Brittany and Chris Vidrine learned their third child had anencephaly, they were understandably heartbroken. They said that Brittany had experienced complications during her previous two pregnancies and therefore, they determined that since their baby might die at birth, they should not take the risk of complications for Brittany in order to sustain the baby’s life any longer.<\/p>\n

Though Louisiana allows<\/em> abortion for situations such as a diagnosis of anencephaly, they could not find a doctor willing to commit the abortion, and they went to Colorado to undergo the abortion.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, there was no other choice for us,\u201d Brittany said. \u201cI have two other kids I need to be here for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Statistically, women who carry their preborn children to term after receiving such a diagnosis have better<\/em>\u00a0mental health outcomes than those who have an abortion, according to\u00a0multiple<\/a>\u00a0studies<\/a>. Research has revealed<\/a> that women who have an abortion following a traumatic prenatal diagnosis have a higher risk<\/a> of post-traumatic stress disorder and emotional anguish than women who carry their baby to term after such a diagnosis.<\/p>\n

In addition, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) explained<\/a> that when a mother is at risk of complications, doctors should adhere to “treatment to save the mother’s life.” This can include premature delivery when necessary. Such a delivery is not an induced abortion because it does not involve intentionally and directly killing the preborn child as in an induced abortion. “We treat two patients,” said AAPLOG, “the mother and the baby…”<\/p>\n

It does not appear that Brittany’s life was in immediate danger, but if it were, her baby did not have to be intentionally and directly killed in order to end the pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Ember’s story<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just like the Vidrines, Joe Baker and his wife, Ann, experienced<\/a> an anencephaly diagnosis for their fourth child, a baby girl named Ember. Baker is the founder of Save the Storks, and the couple refused abortion despite repeated pressure. Told that Ember had a 10% chance of surviving for one week after birth, they knew their time with her was too short, but decided to make the most memories they could with Ember while they still had her with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnn brought this map to me, and she said, \u2018I want to take Ember to all of these places,’\u201d Baker recalled. \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018Ann, I don\u2019t even think she\u2019s going to be discharged from the hospital,\u2019 and she\u2019s like, \u2018No, Joe. We\u2019re going to all these places between now and November [when Ember was due to be born].’\u201d From that moment, “The Ember Tour” was born. They traveled to Yosemite, Rocky Mountain National Park, Chicago, and other locations that were special to them.<\/p>\n

They also decided that their three young sons would make artwork for the delivery room. It was a sweet way for them to welcome their sister at her birth. The next thing they knew, their son’s entire class, and then the entire school, was making artwork for Ember. After sharing their story, they received support from around the world.<\/p>\n