'Too sick to live' is not an invitation to kill

MirrorIndy recently highlighted the story of Ann, her husband, and their daughter Althea, who, based on ultrasound imaging, did not have kidneys. Doctors said Althea would not survive more than a couple of days after birth, leading her parents to request an abortion. However, their state of Indiana protected Althea's life.

Key Takeaways:

• Ann and her husband were told at 20 weeks that their daughter Althea would not survive long after birth.

• Doctors advised them to undergo an abortion, but since Indiana's law protected Althea, they traveled to Chicago for a two day abortion.

• Ann described Althea as "too sick to live" and opted to have a two-day abortion, likely a D&E dismemberment abortion.

• It should never be an option to abort a child because they receive a difficult diagnosis.

The Details:

Ann and her husband were trying to become pregnant when they learned they were expecting Althea. But at their 20 week ultrasound, doctors said baby Althea's kidneys were not visible. Her lungs also weren't developing, a known complication of Althea's condition. Kidneys are needed to produce amniotic fluid, which then helps the lungs develop. Doctors predicted that Althea wouldn't live more than a few days after birth. They likely weren't wrong; there are only two cases of an infant surviving after being born without kidneys.

In 2013, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler welcomed daughter Abigail, who had Potter Syndrome, a condition in which the kidneys do not develop. Hoping to save her daughter, Beutler underwent amnioinfusions during pregnancy. Abigail was born, survived, and underwent dialysis until she was grown enough her father to donate his own kidney to her. She is thriving today. Likewise, Ivorie Nicole underwent amnioinfusions to save her daughter River.

It is unclear if Ann was given the option of amnioinfusions, or if she was even eligible to receive the experimental treatment. MirrorIndy reported, "The couple faced an impossible choice: terminate the pregnancy or risk complications waiting for the inevitable end."

It should go without saying that giving parents the "impossible choice" of aborting their baby rather than attempting to save her shouldn't be a choice at all. It's cruel. Calling it "impossible" pulls on America's heartstrings to exploit a tragedy to promote abortion.

“I didn’t want her to know pain,” Ann said. “With all her genetic problems, we would’ve just had to watch her die.”

No parent wants to watch their child suffer, but that doesn't mean children facing health complications should be killed.

The Pro Life Reply to: "Abort Babies with Terminal Diagnoses"

Indiana protects most preborn children from abortion, except if the baby is conceived in rape, to prevent the mother's death or serious injury, or if the baby is diagnosed with a health condition considered to be fatal. Under the exceptions, aborting Althea would have been legal, but by the time Althea's condition was confirmed, it was "too late" to abort her in Indiana. Abortion under these circumstances is limited to 22 weeks. Her life was protected.

But not everyone sees it that way. "Their case highlights how Indiana's near-total abortion ban is forcing women to jump through hoops for care," MirrorIndy said.

Zoom In:

A few days after Christmas, Ann and her husband drove four hours to have an abortion in Chicago. They were given assistance to pay for their travel expenses, and she underwent what MirrorIndy calls a "two-day procedure." At this stage of pregnancy, Ann either underwent a D&E dismemberment abortion or an induced delivery abortion as both can take two days.

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

Ann left the facility with just a blue sheet of paper featuring Althea's footprints. Further testing showed that Althea had triploidy, meaning she had an extra set of chromosomes. The survival rate for triploidy is extremely low, with the longest known survival being 10 1/2 months. Many of the babies die during pregnancy.

In addition, triploidy can increase a woman's chances of developing pre-eclampsia, which led Ann to feel justified in aborting Althea.

“It was already rare that I was able to carry her for so long. It was incredibly unsafe," she said. "I could’ve died or lost the ability to have children."

However, delivering a baby early to save the mother's life is not an abortion, and is legal in every state. There was never a reason to intentionally kill Althea. But that's what abortion enthusiasts want Ann and other parents to believe.

An induced abortion is an act carried out to deliberately and intentionally kill or cause the death of the preborn child by methods such as lethal injection or dismemberment. An induced delivery, however, is an act carried out when necessary to save the mother's health or life and to provide the child with age-appropriate care and comfort.

“They recommended that we terminate because they said it would have been dangerous for me to continue to carry her, and that the outcome would have been the same," Ann explained. "Either way, she was going to die. So it was, you know, to have her never know a moment of suffering, or watch her die slowly.”

She added, "They're making it more dangerous for all pregnant women. My baby was wanted, but too sick to live."

No one is so sick that they deserve to be killed.

Why it Matters:

Ann's desire to protect her daughter is understood by every loving parent, but it's an impossible task. Parents can't always protect their children from pain, but they can provide them with love and comfort, along with every effort to give them the care they need when facing medical issues.

Except, instead, parents are being fed the lie that its more compassionate to end their child's life via abortion than to welcome them and love them for exactly who they are. Rather than abortion being an "option" for parents whose children receive a prenatal diagnosis, abortion has become an expectation.

Ann also understandably said they didn't want to "watch her die." This is a sentiment expressed by any parent of a seriously ill child. But under that reasoning, abortion is about protecting the parents, not the child. Adults need to do the hard things so children are protected.

"Too sick to live" isn't an invitation to kill someone. If Ann's life was at risk, Althea could have been delivered. She could have been kept comfortable and given any care that could have prolonged her life. She could have been held and known by her parents, even if her life was short.

Aborting a baby due to a diagnosis is discriminatory. Its eugenics. Every human deserves to live out their full lives, no matter how long or short. And every parent should be given the hope and peace that comes with doing everything they can for their child.

A study found that women who have undergone an abortion due to a fetal diagnosis “ultimately felt as if they were betraying themselves and their children.” However, those who carry to term expressed feelings of closure and peace. The Journal of Clinical Ethics reported that 97.5% of parents who chose to carry to term rather than abort did not regret the decision. “Parents valued the baby as a part of their family and had opportunities to love, hold, meet, and cherish their child,” it explained.

According to Perinatal Hospice and Palliative Care, which provides resources for parents who are facing such a diagnosis, significant research shows that women who have an abortion following a fetal diagnosis suffer “physical and emotional pain, with psychosocial and reproductive consequences.”

The Bottom Line:

Ann's "impossible choice" shouldn't have been a choice at all.