FACT CHECK: Are babies born with life-limiting conditions suffering?

When a story about Charlie, a baby with a life-limiting condition, went viral, surpassing 27 million views on X in two days, it sparked heavy debate about whether babies with life-limiting conditions experience constant pain and agony during their short life spans. 

Key Takeaways:

• Though many people believe that children born with life-limiting conditions "suffer" more if they are allowed to be born, data does not support this.

• Most abortions for life-limiting conditions take place at 20 weeks or later, when the data shows preborn children are capable of experiencing pain.

• Perinatal palliative care provides pain relief for babies who need it after birth. Unfortunately, most doctors recommend abortion, as this is frequently encouraged by medical professionals instead of palliative care.

• An expert has stated that pain relief is given to babies who need it, but the "vast majority of my experience is the baby... himself or herself has a peaceful experience."

The Details:

Baby Charlie experienced a condition that affected his organs in the womb and because of this, his parents were advised to abort him. Despite pressure, Charlie’s parents chose life and he spent a precious two hours alive after birth with his loving parents before passing away naturally. 

Many individuals on X responded to Baby Charlie’s story with statements such as these:  

“Celebrating a literal infant gasping in agony for two hours before asphyxiating as their parents watch and are permanently traumatized because you have extreme views on abortion is literally evil and insane.” 

“So two hours of agony just to die when this suffering could've been prevented by abortion?”

“You’re pro birth not pro life. If you were truly pro life, the idea of a life of suffering and agony would be appalling to you”

These statements all have two central claims in common:

• Babies born with life-limiting conditions endure untreatable pain and agony.

• Abortion is the answer. 

Reality Check:

Agonizing Pain & Suffering Claims Debunked 

Often when a mother chooses life for her baby that has been diagnosed with a life-limiting condition, she is referred to perinatal palliative care.

Perinatal palliative care has been developed to provide the baby and the family with comfort in the form of bonding, maintenance of body temperature, relief of hunger and thirst, and the alleviation of discomfort and pain. 

Studies assessing the comfort of newborns with life-limiting diagnoses treated by current neonatal comfort care programs concluded, “[M]ost parents reported that their child was treated with respect, in a caring, peaceful and non-invasive environment. To the question 'Do you think that overall your baby received comfort,' [the most common] response was 'always.'” 

Dr. Elvira Parravicini, a neonatologist with experience in the births of over 200 babies with life-limiting conditions, confirms that “they cannot suffer… they tend to sleep away.” Dr. Parravicini notes that “in the case of [a baby's] discomfort we quickly introduce fentanyl or morphine drugs, but the vast majority of my experience is the baby becomes very quiet, stops breathing, and then the heart stops... the baby himself or herself has a peaceful experience."

Abortion is the ‘Cure’ Claim Debunked 

Evidence suggests that when babies are diagnosed with life-limiting conditions, their mothers will often choose to continue their pregnancies if given the option of perinatal palliative care.

The sad reality is that doctors often recommend abortion instead of referring their patients to perinatal palliative care.

A study on the University of California San Diego Medical Center’s Fetal Care and Genetics Center referral database revealed that of the 332 women diagnosed with potential life-limiting fetal conditions from 2006 to 2012, only 11% were recommended to perinatal palliative care; 56% ended in abortion. 

The study conducted on the women whose babies were diagnosed with life-limiting fetal conditions revealed that of the 56% that chose abortions, the median gestational age at the time of the abortion was 20 weeks. This means that the majority of these abortions were performed in the 2nd trimester, which would require a dilation and evacuation abortion (D&E) – in which the still-living baby is dismembered limb by limb and the skull crushed.

2nd Trimester Abortion | Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) | What Is Abortion?

The common argument against perinatal palliative care is that abortion is the less painful option for the baby. But during a D&E, no pain relief is administered to the preborn child, who most likely is capable of experiencing pain.

If the median gestational age for a baby terminated on the basis of a life-limiting diagnosis is 20 weeks, then one must evaluate the development and pain of the baby in the womb at this point in the pregnancy. At 20 weeks from fertilization (22 weeks gestation), babies have survived outside the womb with medical assistance.

Some data indicates that babies may be able to feel pain in the womb as early as 14 weeks gestation, and other data shows that they likely experience it even earlier. Abortion inflicts far worse pain and agony upon a child than any conditions the child might be facing.

Abortion is Better for Parents Claim Debunked 

Many argue that parents need access to abortion in order to prevent the heartbreak that accompanies the experience of losing a child. However, studies reveal that the majority of families diagnosed with life-limited fetal conditions choose to continue pregnancy when enrolled in a perinatal palliative care program. 

One parent who received perinatal palliative care shared:

“A perinatologist said things to us like 'the outcome will be the same' even if we didn’t induce prematurely. Now that I’m stronger emotionally, I know that the outcome would not be the same. We would not have had all of the special time to share with Gianna during her life in my womb. We would not have been able to share some amazing, precious moments with our baby and our sons.”

Another parent stated:

“For me it felt more manageable to know that I had let nature take its course. And I gained a lot of strength and joy from the days I had with Alaina. Having it end sooner would not have decreased my suffering. And having it end later did not increase my suffering. It was maybe just a different kind of suffering. ...If I could go back and tell myself one thing, it would be: ‘You will be OK.’”

Furthermore, a study published by the University of Cambridge found that women who receive abortions are 81 percent more likely to experience mental health issues — even when compared to carrying a pregnancy to term. 

The Bottom Line:

Abortion is never the answer in the case of life-limiting fetal conditions, as many Facebook users noted in their comments about baby Charlie — the opposite of the opinions expressed on X.

These babies and their families deserve to be treated with human dignity.