I was an older mother for all three of my pregnancies – 37, 38, and 41. I was warned every time of the high, higher, and highest likelihood of birth defects in my babies. My husband and I both chose to take our chances and love whatever baby God gave us. God chose to give us two typical children and one with Down syndrome.
We decided not to do prenatal testing beyond ultrasounds, so we didn’t know what to expect when our babies were born. I have always been pro-life, but one of the reasons I chose not to do testing was because I didn’t want to face the decision of whether to terminate a pregnancy on the basis of birth defects. I’m not immune to the lure of the way out of a life of serving a medically-fragile child. I didn’t want to have a sliver of temptation. I never wanted there to be a moment in time where my unborn child might think I didn’t absolutely love him or her and wasn’t fighting fiercely for his or her health and well-being.
Redmond Samuel Wyse was born in distress, via unplanned c-section, and immediately whisked away from me before I could even glimpse him. Before I had a chance to marvel at his beautiful face, I was told of the suspicion of Down syndrome. I grieved. Oh, how I grieved.
Then I got to know my new baby boy.
I couldn’t hold him until he was well over a week old, and then he was medically paralyzed, but before he could even take in life-sustaining breath, I learned that he is a fighter. I learned that he is not about to be stopped by anything anyone thinks might be a problem. I fell so deeply in love with him that I willingly and gladly give my life in service to him. I would do it again. He is a treasure beyond words.
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New York State passed a bill this week that feminists are celebrating with glee, lighting up the top of the Freedom Tower with pink lights as they claim victory for women’s health reform and women’s rights. It’s a bill that gives women “the right” to terminate their pregnancies up to the day before the baby is born full-term at nine months gestation. According to this new bill that people cheered for when it passed, it’s no longer homicide to kill an unborn child through domestic violence or other means. Homicide is only available to those victims who have been born and are alive. (Because an unborn baby isn’t alive as it kicks and hiccups and jumps at loud noises in the womb? UGH!)
What about the baby’s rights though?
That baby growing in the womb of a woman ISN’T her body. As soon as a woman learns she’s pregnant, it becomes very obvious that her body is no longer her own. She is a host. The baby has it’s own set of organs, tissues, and bones. It has a separate nervous system, blood type, and brain. These things don’t belong to the mother. They belong to the child. Termination of that pregnancy isn’t the end either. The baby’s DNA becomes intermingled with the mothers for the rest of her life. It never goes away.
This bill that allows for abortion for all nine months of pregnancy, and not just by a doctor but any “medical professional”, denies that a baby is anything other than an elective part of the mother’s body until it is born and wanted. If an attempted abortion fails and the baby is born alive, there is now nothing illegal about killing that child outside of the womb! Lord, have mercy on us all.
When a C-section could be performed to save the life of the mother, abortion is now a viable option. When a baby is old enough to live outside the womb, abortion is now allowed. Lord, have mercy.
Even if you are not a person of faith, I imagine that this bill is repulsive to you. How can it be legal?
What I Am Doing:
Within my sphere of influence, I have begun to volunteer on the Medical Outreach Team of the Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network (DSDN). This non-profit organization seeks to support families when they receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome, prenatally and within the first three years of the child’s life. They also work to educate medical providers on the best practice when delivering the news of a Down syndrome diagnosis.
As a part of this team, I have the opportunity to speak to medical providers about my son and our family. I have the opportunity to share what other families in our situation need to hear – an unbiased delivery of the news with the most accurate, up-to-date information, and materials to offer support to those families.
I believe that medical providers have a tremendous ability to influence the future of our children and they set the tone for how the family will process the information. If they are told of all the wonderful possibilities, along with the facts about the challenges, babies will have a much greater chance to live.
It is very expensive for the DSDN to send representatives to speak with these medical providers, and we are the only organization that performs this service. Because I believe so strongly in the mission of this organization, I plan to donate a portion of the profits from the sale of my upcoming book to the DSDN. 10% of the profits will go to my local church as my tithe and 10% will go to DSDN. (The remainder of the profits will be used to offset the cost of insurance and care for my son.) If you would like to give directly to DSDN now, please click here.
The launch date of my book is set for May 18, 2019, at which time I will be the keynote speaker at a women’s event at our local church. The book will tell the story of how God prepared me in advance for the life of my son and the impact on our lives today, and my topic at the event will be the miracles God has performed as the life of my child unfolds. If you are within driving distance, I hope that you’ll save the date!
I would love to hear what YOU are doing to bring about a change to our country and world’s response to abortion.