(Originally published on NewsMax.)
Imagine a young couple and their execitement over expecting a baby.
That excitement heightens as they await test results for their soon-to-be newborn in a sterile medical environment.
A heady and awkward doctor enters the room and tries to explain that her baby has a rare genetic disorder, one “not compatible with life”— a disorder known as Trisomy 18.
The father, shocked, looks at his bride as her eyes sink to the floor following her heart.
Pregnancy is never easy, and some pregnancies are harder than others.
But the payoff at the end is truly a little bundle of joy.
Many have faced this kind of gut-wrenching news.
My wife and I were given the same news 20 years ago.
We were told after a diagnostic ultrasound that our baby boy may have Trisomy 18.
The suggestion was that we consider abortion.
We refused and said we will gladly support whatever baby God decides to give us as best we can for as long as we can. I remember what it felt like.
To this day, recalling the memory, even as I write these words, brings a lump to my throat.
Happily, either the diagnosis was incorrect or God healed our boy who is now 20 years old and about to get married.
Our heart goes out to Katie and Justin and all who face the prospect of a dying child and are now seeking an abortion outside of Texas.
Their decision comes as a Texas Supreme court stayed a lower court’s legal exemption for Kate to abort her baby diagnosed with Trisomy 18 — a fetal abnormality which, assuming the diagnosis is accurate, might take the baby’s life.
If Kate and Justin are like the rest of us and not using her baby’s plight to vie for her political opinions, times of intense personal crisis involving death are not the time when we want to hear platitudes.
We want to hear the truth because we can’t afford to waste our time with lies.
The truth is, investing in the life of a baby is never a waste of time. There are only two things that are sacred in this world; God and people. If you do all you can to support the life of your Trisomy 18 baby, you will look back on these times with a joy filled sorrow, a depth of feeling which will extend your vision for what it means to be human and deepen your love for those around you. You will never regret it.
And sometimes, like our experience with my son, the good news is that the bad news the doctors delivered is not true, inaccurate, or miraculously solved.
Prenatal testing is often wrong which tragically leads to rash abortion decisions.
One study revealed that up to 9.2 % of ultrasound diagnoses for fetal abnormalities are wrong — as in my son’s case 20 years ago.
Many prenatal tests yield false positive results up to 50% of the time. And when it comes to test results for Down syndrome, 67% of mothers abort in the U.S.
To Kate and Justin, and the rest of the world, I urge caution. Do not be too quick to jump on the abortion bandwagon like a lower-court judge did on Dec. 7. There is wisdom in the Texas Supreme Court order cooling everyone’s jets, staying the lower court’s ruling.
What if Kate’s baby does have Trisomy 18 for whom a long and healthy life is a long shot, does that make his life less worth living? There are a host of perinatal hospice centers to help parents care for dying babies with dignity. There is even one in Dallas near Kate and Justin.
The legal argument is that Kate’s future reproductive health will be at risk if she has her baby. But according to expert testimony from an Ob/Gyn, this is false.
Carrying her Trisomy 18 baby to term does not put Kate’s health at risk increased risk any more than any other pregnancy.
The abortion procedure is the real risk and the doctors that are recommending or providing it should be sued for malpractice.
Studies show that late-term surgical abortion like the one Kate would receive, increase the risk of future preterm deliveries by 52% as well as the risk of breast cancer by 44%.
If the goal is preserving Kate’s future reproductive health, abortion is not the path.
One final thought; if you just received a diagnosis that your toddler has a rare condition that doctors predict will take his life within days or weeks, would you ask the doctor to terminate your child’s life?
There is no material difference in this case except that the baby is in utero. And what will Kate and Justin say to their other children about the death of the baby either way?
These are the hard truths.
The Rev. Jim Harden, CEO of CompassCare, an anti-abortion medical network based in Buffalo, New York. He is married with 10 children. He passionately exposes unequal enforcement of the law and immoral public policy. Read more of the Rev. Jim Harden’s Reports — Here.
