{"id":310204,"date":"2024-04-14T09:08:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T14:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=310204"},"modified":"2024-04-14T23:23:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-15T04:23:24","slug":"mom-aborted-baby-down-syndrome-christian-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/mom-aborted-baby-down-syndrome-christian-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom who aborted baby with Down syndrome says she’s a Christian, so pro-lifers should support her"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When Kelly Shannon learned her preborn baby had Down syndrome, she was upset<\/a> to discover she wouldn’t be able to have an abortion under Alabama law. So she traveled to Virginia to have the abortion, and believes that her decision was the correct one \u2014 so<\/em> correct, in fact, that she says since she is “a married, white, straight, Christian, grew-up-in-the-church woman,” pro-lifers should listen to her and change their minds about abortion.<\/p>\n

Shannon spoke with the States Newsroom<\/a> about learning at 16 weeks by ultrasound that her preborn baby girl had Down syndrome along with a buildup of fluid in her head and body, a heart defect, and a tumor in her abdomen. The news outlet reported, “Each abnormality on its own would possibly have been manageable, Shannon said, but the maternal-fetal medicine specialist told her the combination meant she would likely either miscarry at some point during the pregnancy or her daughter\u2019s life would be short and punctuated by multiple surgeries. Shannon and her husband made the difficult decision at that point to terminate.”<\/p>\n

She said the fact that the baby had more than one condition \u201cmade the decision [to abort] easier because it was like, well now if I know I\u2019m going to lose her regardless, I can lose her on a controlled timeline, protect my health, start the grieving process, get healthy and then still be able to have another child.”<\/p>\n

But her daughter wasn’t guaranteed<\/em> to die; the medical ethics committee did not see her condition as ‘lethal.’ <\/em><\/p>\n

Beyond the failed logic of thinking it’s better to kill your child before they can die naturally, it’s also tragic and inconsistent to act as if, just because a child is still in the womb, it’s acceptable to ‘abort and start over.’ If Shannon’s child had been born and diagnosed with such conditions, it is unlikely Shannon would have rather her child die “on a controlled timeline<\/em>” than receive proper medical care. She likely wouldn’t have thought, ‘Let’s start the grieving process as soon as possible by killing our newborn before she dies naturally.’<\/p>\n

Pro-life, no exceptions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shannon’s comments to the States Newsroom regarding why she feels people should support her decision are striking.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get angry whenever I see people with the \u2018choose life\u2019 bumper stickers and license plates, because they\u2019re not thinking about me,” Shannon said. “They\u2019re not recognizing that it\u2019s not a black and white issue, it\u2019s nothing but shades of gray when you\u2019re dealing with pregnancy, particularly high-risk pregnancy.”<\/p>\n

She went on to say, \u201cI am a married, white, straight, Christian, grew-up-in-the-church woman who was attempting to grow her family within the bounds of marriage, and I just keep thinking, if anybody is going to be able to change a mind about this issue, shouldn\u2019t it be me?\u201d<\/p>\n

But Shannon’s race, religion, sexuality, and marital status don’t make her an authority figure to whom pro-lifers should look as an exception to pro-life laws, and her statement comes across with a narcissistic, elitist tone. Her situation isn’t more significant or worthy of compassion than any other woman’s, regardless of race, religion, or marital status.<\/p>\n

In addition, pro-lifers are<\/em> truly thinking of women like Shannon, who are facing a diagnosis for their preborn child, when enacting laws to protect children from abortion. Those laws also protect women<\/em>. According to Perinatal Hospice and Palliative Care<\/a>, which provides resources for parents who are facing such a diagnosis, significant research<\/a> shows that women who have an abortion following a prenatal diagnosis suffer<\/a> \u201cphysical and emotional pain, with psychosocial and reproductive consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional studies show that aborting a \u2018wanted\u2019 baby due to a diagnosis can be a \u201ctraumatic event<\/a> \u2026 which entails the risk of severe and complicated grieving.”<\/p>\n

Abortion is traumatic, and aborting your baby due to a diagnosis can increase the risk of abortion-related trauma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alabama law protected her baby<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alabama’s pro-life law protected Shannon’s daughter and treated her as a valued human being. The law protects most children from abortion but has an exception for children who are expected to die before, at, or shortly after birth. Shannon hoped that the medical ethics committees that determine which babies can be killed would give them the go-ahead, so she scheduled the abortion.<\/p>\n

But after the first hospital committee said she could<\/em> abort, the second committee said she couldn’t<\/em>. The committee determined that the baby’s condition was not ‘lethal’ as required for an abortion under state law, and therefore, killing the baby prior to birth was not an option within Alabama’s borders. They did, however, say that if the baby girl developed hydrops fetalis, an excessive buildup of fluid, then Shannon could<\/em> have an abortion.<\/p>\n

At 17 weeks, Shannon had an ultrasound to check for hydrops but it was not present. As the pregnancy progressed, the tumor grew .7 centimeters. These were not enough to deem her daughter’s health conditions ‘lethal.’<\/p>\n

Shannon was \u201c… angry… that I wasn\u2019t going to get to handle my pregnancy and my termination in the way that made the most sense to me \u2026”<\/p>\n

READ:<\/strong> IN MEMORY: After a cancer diagnosis while pregnant, she fought for her life and her child\u2019s<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

An out-of-state abortion<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, at 19 weeks, unable to abort in her home state, Shannon drove to Virginia with her parents to have an induction abortion.<\/p>\n

An induction abortion involves injecting feticide, typically digoxin, into the baby’s head or heart to cause cardiac arrest. The mother then delivers a stillborn child, though there are cases in which the baby survives and is born alive<\/a>.<\/p>\n