Mom shares story of choosing life for son with Trisomy 18 – and the mission it inspired

A recent episode from the Shout My Story podcast tells the beautiful story of a family who chose life for their son diagnosed with Trisomy 18 — and the ministry born from their experience.

Keira Burke told host Cindy Morales that when she was 20 weeks pregnant with her fifth child, Rory, she and her husband learned that Rory likely had Trisomy 18, a life-limiting condition that often means a child may not live long after birth. Burke said her doctor offered them an abortion as a routine course of action, but they refused.

It was only after confirming a second time that they were not going to abort their child that they were offered the option of perinatal hospice — a fact Burke described as “unfortunate.” She said if more families were offered perinatal hospice as an equal alternative to abortion at the outset rather than an afterthought, she believes many of those families would choose life.

Instead, many parents are led to believe that abortion is the norm.

Trisomy 18 and the Road Ahead with Keara Burke | Shout My Story Podcast: Episode 4

Burke spoke about the common misconception people have that bringing a child into the world with a life-limiting diagnosis will cause that child to suffer greatly. She emphasized that the way a medical professional speaks about the diagnosis makes all the difference, and noted that the baby will undoubtedly suffer during an abortion.

“Termination is such an unnatural, violent procedure, and if they actually knew what that procedure does and how the baby suffers immensely during that procedure, I think people would kind of rethink doing that,” she said.

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Burke described how as her pregnancy with Rory continued, she received solace just hearing his heartbeat at appointments. She was encouraged when one ultrasound technician told her that Rory wasn’t in pain while he was in her womb — he was just enjoying his time being with his mother.

“We just wanted his time with us to be painless and full of love however long we had him,” she said, noting that after his birth, Rory was able to be held and loved by his siblings and other family members, and his memory lives on — things that wouldn’t have been possible had he been aborted.

Though Rory’s life outside the womb was short — he lived just five days after birth — Burke said it had immense value, as all lives do. Many people were touched to learn baby Rory’s story, and that impact lives on. Burke and her husband recently started an organization called Rory’s Way to help support other parents who are navigating life-limiting diagnoses for their own children.

“If you have that support it can be very very beautiful and it can carry you through it,” she said describing the mission. “You need people to walk with you during these times who have been through it and that’s kind of what we want to offer…We have a website where we give you all the options, give you all the knowledge of what your other choices are,” she said.

Burke added that her goal is to be a source of encouragement and support for families so that they choose life for their children — a goal emphasized in the organization’s mission: “Empowering parents through the holistic and viable option of carrying their baby to term and caring for their baby as long as they are able.”

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