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Year-long investigation reveals horrific abuses in surrogacy industry
Cassy Cooke
·Spotlight Articles
Guest Column·By Marie Mierzejewski
GUEST ARTICLE: I've lost 7 babies and want women to see the truth about abortion
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the author.
I have always instinctively known that all life is precious, and I was always deeply saddened by the idea of abortion. But during my time at Franciscan University, I served as a sidewalk counselor and saw that many women under the extreme stress of an unplanned pregnancy had bought into the lie that abortion would make them “unpregnant.”
I saw the aftermath of abortion, and saw women walk out after these later term abortions with looks of despondency and despair because they were now the mothers of dead babies.
I had already been blessed with four children when I began losing my babies. Perhaps because I’m so violently ill in pregnancy, I was never worried about having a miscarriage, and tended to just be in survival mode when pregnant.
My first loss was the early stillbirth of my daughter, Gianna Rose, at 20 weeks. I birthed her on the same maternity floor I had delivered my two daughters, Mary and Thérèse Faustina.
I remember sobbing as the nurse gently explained to me that my milk may come in, and I wondered how I’d survive this level of grief.
Little did I know then that I would go on to have six more losses — four of them consecutively following this one.
It is an insanely anxiety-producing instinct to know with zero physical symptoms that another baby has died within me.
All seven of my miscarriages were what are called “missed marriages,” meaning I walk around looking and feeling pregnant, with no bleeding or symptoms of a miscarriage. However pregnant I look and feel, with a missed miscarriage, my baby has died within me.
My fifth loss, only two years after my first loss, was of my son John Paul at 14.5 weeks.
My husband tried to reassure me, “You’ve earned this anxiety, honey; we have lost four babies in a row. I’m sure everything is fine.”
But I knew John Paul had died. I cannot articulate how I knew, but I knew.
I remember praying a Divine Mercy Chaplet as a sort of “hail Mary” plea to God, and tearing up while in the waiting room of my OB’s office that day.
But God knows all, and I already instinctively knew also.
My doctor found a heartbeat and said, “There we go — see, Marie?” But then upon seeing me breaking out in a sweat with worry, my physician took my pulse, and realized that the rapid heartbeat was, in fact, mine. There was no other heartbeat.
I remember being sent to the hospital for the ultrasound to confirm our worst fears immediately after. While in the waiting room for the ultrasound, I kept telling my husband (and myself, really) that every little twinge or digestive movement, could be the baby... right? Maybe?
Sadly, at this point, after having lost four babies, even going into an ultrasound room was difficult for me. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the screen, but instead watched my husband's face that was locked onto that ultrasound screen.
We both had become unofficial experts at recognizing what a baby with no heartbeat looked like on the ultrasound screen. When I saw that specific look in his eyes and his head drop, I knew.
Of course, the ultrasound tech said, “I need to go discuss with the doctor” — but we both knew. Beating hearts on the ultrasound are easy to see, and there was none.
I birthed John Paul at home, and my husband and I had a few quiet moments with him. But then we quickly rushed to the hospital out of caution, as I had fainted the year before when birthing my fourth loss at home, Fulton Kolbe, at 12.5 weeks. Sadly, many hospitals won’t let you give birth there until you are farther along.
Later, upon needing to do something fruitful with the mind-blowing grief I was experiencing, I posted to social media that I would be happy to share a picture privately of our sweet son John Paul with anyone.
One dear friend texted me, asking if I was serious, and if I would mind sharing it with her. This friend had been quite pro-choice, even paying for her sister's abortion and having had one herself.
“That is…..a BABY!!!” is all she could utter, over and over again. Her complete shock even surprised me.
I have gone on to lose two more babies, Rita and Catherine, and the grief is so profound.
As a former social worker, I am aware that complicated grief is MUCH harder than the grief I have experienced and still do.
This complex grief is what women experience after an abortion, from having played a part in ending the life of their preborn babies. Miscarriage is absolutely brutal but abortion is even harder.
May the Lord in His mercy use my pain and loss to help women see this truth and choose life.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Cassy Cooke
·
Guest Column
Liberty Counsel
·
Guest Column
Anna Hanemann
·
Guest Column
Right to Life UK
·
Guest Column
Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves
·
Guest Column
Kelli Stelter
·Guest Column·By Marie Mierzejewski
GUEST ARTICLE: I've lost 7 babies and want women to see the truth about abortion
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this guest post are solely those of the author.
I have always instinctively known that all life is precious, and I was always deeply saddened by the idea of abortion. But during my time at Franciscan University, I served as a sidewalk counselor and saw that many women under the extreme stress of an unplanned pregnancy had bought into the lie that abortion would make them “unpregnant.”
I saw the aftermath of abortion, and saw women walk out after these later term abortions with looks of despondency and despair because they were now the mothers of dead babies.
I had already been blessed with four children when I began losing my babies. Perhaps because I’m so violently ill in pregnancy, I was never worried about having a miscarriage, and tended to just be in survival mode when pregnant.
My first loss was the early stillbirth of my daughter, Gianna Rose, at 20 weeks. I birthed her on the same maternity floor I had delivered my two daughters, Mary and Thérèse Faustina.
I remember sobbing as the nurse gently explained to me that my milk may come in, and I wondered how I’d survive this level of grief.
Little did I know then that I would go on to have six more losses — four of them consecutively following this one.
It is an insanely anxiety-producing instinct to know with zero physical symptoms that another baby has died within me.
All seven of my miscarriages were what are called “missed marriages,” meaning I walk around looking and feeling pregnant, with no bleeding or symptoms of a miscarriage. However pregnant I look and feel, with a missed miscarriage, my baby has died within me.
My fifth loss, only two years after my first loss, was of my son John Paul at 14.5 weeks.
My husband tried to reassure me, “You’ve earned this anxiety, honey; we have lost four babies in a row. I’m sure everything is fine.”
But I knew John Paul had died. I cannot articulate how I knew, but I knew.
I remember praying a Divine Mercy Chaplet as a sort of “hail Mary” plea to God, and tearing up while in the waiting room of my OB’s office that day.
But God knows all, and I already instinctively knew also.
My doctor found a heartbeat and said, “There we go — see, Marie?” But then upon seeing me breaking out in a sweat with worry, my physician took my pulse, and realized that the rapid heartbeat was, in fact, mine. There was no other heartbeat.
I remember being sent to the hospital for the ultrasound to confirm our worst fears immediately after. While in the waiting room for the ultrasound, I kept telling my husband (and myself, really) that every little twinge or digestive movement, could be the baby... right? Maybe?
Sadly, at this point, after having lost four babies, even going into an ultrasound room was difficult for me. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at the screen, but instead watched my husband's face that was locked onto that ultrasound screen.
We both had become unofficial experts at recognizing what a baby with no heartbeat looked like on the ultrasound screen. When I saw that specific look in his eyes and his head drop, I knew.
Of course, the ultrasound tech said, “I need to go discuss with the doctor” — but we both knew. Beating hearts on the ultrasound are easy to see, and there was none.
I birthed John Paul at home, and my husband and I had a few quiet moments with him. But then we quickly rushed to the hospital out of caution, as I had fainted the year before when birthing my fourth loss at home, Fulton Kolbe, at 12.5 weeks. Sadly, many hospitals won’t let you give birth there until you are farther along.
Later, upon needing to do something fruitful with the mind-blowing grief I was experiencing, I posted to social media that I would be happy to share a picture privately of our sweet son John Paul with anyone.
One dear friend texted me, asking if I was serious, and if I would mind sharing it with her. This friend had been quite pro-choice, even paying for her sister's abortion and having had one herself.
“That is…..a BABY!!!” is all she could utter, over and over again. Her complete shock even surprised me.
I have gone on to lose two more babies, Rita and Catherine, and the grief is so profound.
As a former social worker, I am aware that complicated grief is MUCH harder than the grief I have experienced and still do.
This complex grief is what women experience after an abortion, from having played a part in ending the life of their preborn babies. Miscarriage is absolutely brutal but abortion is even harder.
May the Lord in His mercy use my pain and loss to help women see this truth and choose life.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Cassy Cooke
·Guest Column
Liberty Counsel
·Guest Column
Anna Hanemann
·Guest Column
Right to Life UK
·Guest Column
Bryan Lawrence Gonsalves
·Guest Column
Kelli Stelter
·