Doctors work to save pregnant teen and preborn baby shot in robbery

Doctors in Ohio are working to save the lives and health of a mother and her preborn son after the mother was shot during a robbery.

Key Takeaways:

• Angel Jones and her boyfriend met a man with whom they connected with on Snapchat; the man then attempted to rob them. Jones was 26 weeks pregnant at the time.

• With the gun to his head, Jones's boyfriend attempted to fight off the robber. When the robber shot at him, the bullet missed and struck Jones.

• The bullet shattered Jones' arm and lodged in her chest. It hit her spinal cord, and she is currently paralyzed from the waist down. She also went into labor.

• Doctors are working to stop labor and have given Jones medications to help her son's lungs and brain, as they expect him to be born prematurely.

The Details:

As reported by The Mirror, 18-year-old Angel Jones was 26 weeks pregnant when she and her 19-year-old boyfriend went to Toledo to meet a man with whom they had connected on Snapchat. That man attempted to rob them at gunpoint.

With the gun to his head, the boyfriend attempted to fight off the man and push the weapon away. The gun went off, and a bullet struck Jones, shattering her arm and striking her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Doctors are not sure if Jones will walk again. The shooting also sent her into premature labor.

According to a GoFundMe set up for the couple and their baby:

During the robbery, the gunman pulled the trigger while holding the weapon directly to his head. In a desperate act to protect his pregnant girlfriend, he fought back and tried to wrestle the gun away from the attacker. The gunman fired to kill him, but missed, and the bullet shattered Angel’s arm and tore into her chest instead.

Zoom In:

Jones' mother, Brandy Jones, said, "The bullet shattered Angel’s arm, traveled directly into her chest, and lodged there before surgeons could remove it. The blast injury from the gunfire caused a devastating fracture to her 12th vertebra, leaving her spinal cord severely traumatized."

She said her daughter has shown "incredible bravery."

Jones is awake and talking, and doctors are working to slow down contractions and prevent early labor. They have given her "aggressive medications to rapidly develop her baby boy's brain and lungs."

“He currently weighs just 1 pound, 9 ounces. Every single day he stays inside her is a miracle," said Jones' mother.

The Bottom Line:

Babies born as young as 21 weeks have survived with proper medical care — and with doctors fighting for his life, Angel's baby has a good chance of survival. A 2016 analysis shows that infants born at 26 weeks have a survival rate of 89%; a study from that same year showed an 86% chance of survival.

Yet abortion is allowed even beyond these ages in at least nine states and D.C. In some states with pro-life laws, there are exceptions that allow abortion on babies because of a prenatal diagnosis.