{"id":310978,"date":"2024-04-28T08:46:47","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T13:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=310978"},"modified":"2024-04-26T13:36:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T18:36:19","slug":"parents-choose-life-despite-pressure-abort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/parents-choose-life-despite-pressure-abort\/","title":{"rendered":"They chose life despite pressure to abort… and witnessed a miracle"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

(Pregnancy Help News<\/a>) Like many young married couples, Kansas residents Roy and Emily Schmeidler were excited to learn about Emily\u2019s pregnancy, their first child. However, at the 20-week ultrasound, their excitement turned to fear and uncertainty. They courageously chose life for their child despite doctors\u2019 recommendations for abortion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I were blessed to get pregnant, and at our 20-week ultrasound we got some pretty devastating news,\u201d Emily recently told\u00a0Pregnancy Help News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The baby had a cyst on her brain and one arm appeared to be shorter than the other with the possibility of missing bones. Additionally, the medical team said they couldn\u2019t tell if the baby had all her fingers. The cyst could be an indication of various difficulties, including intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was incredibly small,\u201d Emily recalled. \u201cShe was in the fourth percentile of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The doctor was concerned about the possibility of the baby dying in utero or within the first year of her life. He asked Emily and her husband to consider abortion. They declined and the doctor referred them to a large children\u2019s hospital in the area for further testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe news was shocking,\u201d Emily said, \u201cbut my composure was like, \u2018I have to keep it together,\u2019 but it was really hard. I wanted to just burst out crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

She and her husband returned to their car, absorbing the news together.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I left that doctor’s office and just wept together in the car,\u201d Emily said. \u201cYou never think it’s going to happen to you and then it just does, out of the blue with your first child. All we knew what to do in that moment was to pray. It started a really hard road and journey for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referral and more testing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upon transferring care to a different medical team, Emily underwent additional ultrasounds and a heart echocardiogram.<\/p>\n

\u201cOftentimes if there’s something wrong with both arms, there\u2019s a 99 percent chance the baby is going to have some pretty severe heart problems,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

However, no heart issues were discovered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was shocking,\u201d Emily stated. \u201cSo, we’re praying every day. We know we have to lean into God \u2013 we really didn’t know what else we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others came alongside the couple, including family members, church friends, work colleagues, and one of Emily\u2019s best friends, a nun with the Sisters of Life.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe and her fellow sisters prayed for us \u2026 and [she] also prayed with me and spoke with me over the phone several times too. That was such a gift!\u201d Emily said.<\/p>\n

Emily went to the hospital every week for an ultrasound. Soon, improvements began to be seen, including the disappearance of the brain cyst.<\/p>\n

\u201cI only connect that to God \u2013 it miraculously disappeared,\u201d Emily told\u00a0Pregnancy Help News<\/em>. \u201cIt can disappear in some babies but the fact that everything else was going on and it just disappeared \u2013 that was pretty crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abortion was again presented due to the uncertainty of the baby\u2019s physical and mental setbacks and her survival chances, even outside the womb. Again, Emily and Roy declined.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbortion wasn\u2019t an option for us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She often fought discouragement, however.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe culture of death was very imminent around me, and it was honestly really hard as a pro-life person to continue to remain positive and trust in God and keep going,\u201d Emily said.<\/p>\n

Eventually, growth was detected via ultrasound.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe got to the 11th percentile and then to the 14th percentile, which is no longer growth-restricted,\u201d Emily said.<\/p>\n

Another medical transfer and more miracles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emily grew weary of listening to the medical providers constantly talking about risks, \u2018want-ifs,\u2019 and termination of the pregnancy. So, she asked friends and family for other hospital and doctor recommendations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was tired of having people tell me \u2018There\u2019s something wrong with your baby, you have to be afraid of all of these things that could happen,\u2019\u201d Emily said. \u201cI just wanted to have a somewhat normal birth, where people were going to give me choices and be with a doctor that was going to be just a little bit more understanding of what I was going through \u2026 and be pro-life as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

She transferred to a regional hospital when she was 31 weeks along. Her original due date was given as February 11, 2023, another sign she and her husband embraced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, who is known for miraculous healings,\u201d Emily said.<\/p>\n

Emily\u2019s labor was induced, and after 36 hours of labor, she needed a C-section because the cord was wrapped around the baby\u2019s neck. Emily called her daughter \u201cperfect.\u201d She and her husband named their baby Juliette Lourdes Schmeidler.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing different is that her right arm only has one bone in her forearm instead of two, and it’s a little bit shorter and she only has two fingers on that arm \u2013 it kind of looks like a peace sign,\u201d Emily said. \u201cHer left arm is normal length, and she has a thumb and her pointer finger and her middle finger.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, she does have some differences \u2026 but she is so determined!\u201d said Emily. \u201cWhen she was first born, her shorter arm just kind of hung there, and as she continued to grow, we praise the Lord for free occupational therapy from the state, and now she likes to use her shorter arm as her dominant arm. She can do everything with that arm! She can’t really grasp things so that’s one downside to it, but she is just thriving as a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Juliette is now a toddler at just over a year-old, and her presence impacts people, Emily said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has been the most social little baby! She smiled so early. She does not know a stranger,\u201d Emily shared.<\/p>\n

Prior to the pregnancy, she was hired by\u00a0Choose Life Marketing<\/a>, a pro-life marketing company that works with pregnancy resource centers and other pro-life organizations. After Juliette\u2019s birth, Emily traveled to conferences with her daughter and shared the amazing story of her child with others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is God\u2019s story,\u201d she said. \u201cJuliette is a light to so many people and is always smiling. She is such an inspiration to me as a mom to see so clearly that she is going have a purpose on this earth. She has a story, and she’s going to share that story because she’s so spunky and determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

PHN Editor\u2019s note:<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Choose Life Marketing has been an advertiser with Pregnancy Help News. Resources and support for parents who have received a prenatal diagnosis are available at\u00a0PrenatalDiagnosis.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

LAN\u00a0Editor\u2019s Note:<\/strong> This article was published at\u00a0Pregnancy Help News<\/a>\u00a0and is reprinted here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Pregnancy Help News) Like many young married couples, Kansas residents Roy and Emily Schmeidler were excited to learn about Emily\u2019s pregnancy, their first child. However, at the 20-week ultrasound, their excitement turned to fear and uncertainty. They courageously chose life for their child despite doctors\u2019 recommendations for abortion. \u201cMy husband and I were blessed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":224380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[7077],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThey chose life despite pressure to abort... and witnessed a miracle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New parents Roy and Emily Schmeidler were excited to learn they were pregnant. 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