{"id":83379,"date":"2015-12-24T08:06:46","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T13:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=83379"},"modified":"2017-12-19T01:52:15","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T06:52:15","slug":"parents-abortion-alive-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/parents-abortion-alive-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith’s parents said no to abortion; now she’s racing and sending Christmas gifts around the world"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Faith Russell is an unstoppable girl. Despite the challenges this 10-year-old was born with, Faith<\/a> “has continued to give hope to others.” Her parents refused to have an abortion, and now many across the world are grateful.<\/p>\n

At a 20-week ultrasound, Faith’s parents were given devastating news. Not only did their tiny daughter have spina bifida, but doctors were diagnosing her<\/a> with the most severe type, saying she would be a vegetable. Robin, Faith’s mother, told NBC News<\/a>, “I’ll never forget the doctor saying, ‘These kids never walk.'” But Greg, her father, shared the family’s belief that “Everything happens for a reason. And we prayed… we have faith.”<\/p>\n

In a January, 2015 article<\/a>, Samaritan’s Purse shared about the pressure put on Faith’s parents to have an abortion committed on their daughter. The doctors even used Faith’s older brother as an incentive to end their small daughter’s life:<\/p>\n

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The doctor advised that they consider an abortion because she would likely be physically and mentally impaired. A specialist said it \u201cwouldn\u2019t be fair\u201d to their nearly 3-year-old son, Griffin, for them to have this baby. They were given two days to decide. …<\/p>\n

\u201cMy darkest time was when the doctor was saying that she would never walk,\u201d Greg said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of shallow but the one vision that popped into my head was on her wedding day. I wouldn\u2019t walk her down the aisle, I\u2019d push her.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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But for Greg and Robin, \u201cabortion was never an option.\u201d They clung to their faith and often referred to an index card they had around their home that said, \u201cI will not be moved by what I hear. I will not be moved by what I see or what I feel. I will only be moved by what I believe.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believed strongly that God has a purpose for every life,\u201d Robin said.<\/p>\n

They clung to the statement about the man born blind in John 9:3, trusting that God\u2019s glory would be revealed whether she would be in a walker or a wheelchair.<\/p>\n

Faith arrived on September 28, 2005, and before long the nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit were calling her Scooter because she was pulling her knees up and crawling up in the bed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to The Daily News<\/a>, this “tiny dynamo” defied the doctors’ predictions after her parents rejected abortion. Faith walked at 21 months. In her short life, the amazing little girl has participated in more activities than most 10-year-olds who do not have the limits of spina bifida. Her activities have included singing in a family and church group, gymnastics, training on a treadmill and elliptical, racing in a 5K, and co-leading Christmas gift drives for children around the world.<\/p>\n