{"id":97690,"date":"2016-07-15T11:51:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T15:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=97690"},"modified":"2016-07-15T11:51:42","modified_gmt":"2016-07-15T15:51:42","slug":"refusing-abortion-parents-conjoined-twins-call-miracle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/refusing-abortion-parents-conjoined-twins-call-miracle\/","title":{"rendered":"After refusing abortion, parents of conjoined twins call them a ‘miracle’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Shellie Tucker and her husband Greg were excited to learn they were pregnant with their second child. With a son, Owen, at home, the couple had hoped to add to their family. What they didn\u2019t expect was that they would be having identical twins, and that a specialist would advise them to abort.<\/p>\n

At 20 weeks gestation, a routine ultrasound revealed that Shellie was pregnant with conjoined twins. The baby girls were joined at the chest and abdomen, and shared a diaphragm and liver.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot

Screenshot from ABC Good Morning America interview \/ Youtube<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cHe [the doctor] asked us to go see a specialist who at that point recommended we terminate,\u201d Tucker said during a press conference<\/a>. The doctor didn\u2019t believe the girls would be able to survive and that it would be better to abort them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs he was telling me, I could literally feel the girls kicking in my belly and I knew that that wasn\u2019t possible,\u201d said Tucker.<\/p>\n

The couple refused abortion and sought a second opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth of us have a lot of faith,\u201d she explained. \u201cAnd I think in that situation you have to have it, and we just kinda relied on that and figured no matter the outcome, we were gonna make it through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot

Screenshot from ABC Good Morning America interview \/ Youtube.<\/p><\/div>\n

They soon found themselves at The Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia, where doctors are well known for successfully separating 21 pairs of conjoined twins. Doctors there believed that the girls could survive and be successfully separated. The twins, Amelia and Allison, were born at Children\u2019s Hospital in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came out screaming,\u201d Tucker told Good Morning America<\/a>. \u201cAnd it was the most wonderful feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot

Screenshot from ABC Good Morning America interview \/ Youtube<\/p><\/div>\n

A team of doctors performed the seven-hour-long operation to separate the twins when they were just eight months old.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn overwhelmingly dramatic moment when the tables spread and the babies go their separate ways,\u201d explained Dr. Holly Hedrick, the lead surgeon. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a hard moment, too, because you know, before the operation, they were happy. They were thriving. They had no problems being with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot

Screenshot from ABC Good Morning America interview \/ Youtube.<\/p><\/div>\n

The girls are now four years old and their father calls it the \u201cmost amazing feeling\u201d to see them separated, especially that first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thankful every single day, and I can\u2019t describe it,\u201d said Tucker crying. \u201cSeeing the girls and seeing them climb and get into things, as aggravated as I get, I can\u2019t help but laugh because they\u2019re an absolute miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shellie Tucker and her husband Greg were excited to learn they were pregnant with their second child. With a son, Owen, at home, the couple had hoped to add to their family. What they didn\u2019t expect was that they would be having identical twins, and that a specialist would advise them to abort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":97695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nAfter refusing abortion, parents of conjoined twins call them a 'miracle'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At 20 weeks gestation, a routine ultrasound revealed that Shellie was pregnant with conjoined twins. 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