{"id":303738,"date":"2023-12-20T10:36:56","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T16:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=303738"},"modified":"2023-12-19T13:43:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T19:43:13","slug":"every-human-being-inherent-right-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/every-human-being-inherent-right-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Every human being, including those with Trisomy 18, has an inherent right to life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kate Cox’s quest<\/a> for an abortion has ushered in numerous stories of parents who carried their babies with Trisomy 18 to term. But there have also been stories shared of children who were misdiagnosed<\/a> with Trisomy 18 in the womb and how the legalization of abortion has led to both tragic and miraculous tales.<\/p>\n

But these stories of misdiagnosis \u2014 or possible healing in the womb \u2014 often leave out one detail: every<\/em> child has the inherent right to life and every<\/em> child’s life is a miracle.<\/p>\n

Abortion after a misdiagnosis of Trisomy 18<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2019, a baby was aborted<\/a> in Ireland after his parents received test results indicating their preborn child had Trisomy 18, also known as Edward’s syndrome. However, after the abortion, a second round of test results revealed that the baby did not<\/em> have the condition.<\/p>\n

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister for Defence and Leader of Fine Gael, called the situation an \u201cindividual tragedy,\u201d saying that he felt for the couple who had \u201clost a very wanted child.\u201d He added that he knows similar cases have occurred. The couple claims they were told to have an abortion by the hospital; they were said to be<\/a> \u201cutterly, utterly mentally and physically devastated\u201d after learning they aborted their healthy child.<\/p>\n

But whether or not he was “healthy” had nothing to do with this child’s value as a human being. Neither the parents nor the doctors had the right to seek out his death simply because he received a diagnosis. His death by abortion is not more tragic because he was healthy. It would have been tragic even if he did have Trisomy 18.<\/p>\n

Choosing life after a diagnosis of Trisomy 18<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rev. Jim Harden, the CEO of CompassCare pregnancy center, recently shared<\/a> that his son had been diagnosed in the womb with Trisomy 18 after a “diagnostic ultrasound.” He and his wife refused abortion and their son was born without Trisomy 18 and is now 20 years old.<\/p>\n

Ultrasounds are a type of prenatal screening that can reveal indications of health conditions but do not always offer a positive diagnosis depending on the condition. There have been countless stories shared of children who were misdiagnosed in the womb and were born healthy.<\/p>\n

Studies show that up to 9.2%<\/a> of ultrasound diagnoses are wrong. Non-invasive screening tests in pregnancy can be wrong more than 90%<\/a> of the time. According to a 2014\u00a0study<\/a>, 6% of babies who had a \u201cpositive\u201d screening test result for a health condition were aborted\u00a0without<\/em>\u00a0their parents undergoing a test to confirm the diagnosis, such as an amniocentesis.<\/p>\n

It is normal to celebrate when a child does not have Trisomy 18 or any other condition that doctors initially diagnosed, but it must be remembered that with or without a health condition, that child deserves to live. Whether or not prenatal testing is accurate or inaccurate, killing is not the solution to a diagnosis. Even children with health conditions deserve to have their lives celebrated.<\/p>\n