A baby’s will to live
Saturday morning heartstring-puller: Get out your Kleenex.
Posted in: Abortion
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Categories: Abortion
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Seems to me Little Gabriel saved more than just his life but twins of the future, what a great story.
One of God’s many miracles. Great story Michelle, thanks.
If this doesn’t prove that God exists, what does?!? I’m so glad that the little one survived. Makes you think how wrong doctors can be sometimes!
Thank God!
Thanks MM for a great story, and the funny thing is that I can see these two playing football for Manchester United in a few years
GSP
What a wonderful happy ending. Miracles do happen. I am thrilled for the family.
This is a sad story because the son will grow up knowing his mother tried to murder him in the womb. It does show what a racket the abortion industry is because he was perfectly healthy all along. Even if he wasn’t, it would be much more humane to let him die of natural causes than to kill him.
What? The mother is six months pregnant, and she thinks cruelly killing her son who is capable of living outside her womb by cutting off his blood supply is the “best thing for him?”
She thought it was “kinder” to let him die because he might die?
The lack of logic by the mother and much of liberal society is barbaric. I think she has a bad conscience and she is trying to justify herself, especially the line about it being “kinder to let him die in the womb with his brother by his side than to die alone after being born.”
Doctors are frequently wrong when assessing babies in the womb.
There are mysteries in the Universe unknown and this is one of them. I am an atheist but I revel in the strength of the human spirit!!
What a wonderful article. It proves once again that God is alive and well and in complete control not mankind.
To me this story highlights two points.
First, Doctors are NOT smarter than God even though many believe they are, and Second, the will to live is far greater than the will to die.
I can empathize with the decision that these parents made and I would never try to second guess that decision. I can only imagine the pain and despair that they must have gone through and I am thankful that the end result turned out so well.
I pray that their future will be full of love and well being for everyone in this miraculous family.
How precious it is. Thanks for making us aware of this story, it made our day.
Great story! No kleenex needed. Just a cheer and an “attaboy!”.
Gabe:
I don’t usually comment, but I couldn’t let your comment slide. The article CLEARLY stated that the doctors told her that if they let one die the other baby’s life would be in danger. So the mother, working with this information and not knowing any other outcome, chose to try and terminate one baby. I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can judge a decision like that from the sidelines. It’s easy to say so after the fact, but to say that, working with this amount of information, anyone should roll the dice is very presumptuous.
Not only that, but you presume that the doctors were automatically abortion-prone. Doctors aren’t gods. They made an assessment based on the information they had and known science and came up with the best conclusion. And they turned out to be wrong. What a shock. Doesn’t mean they weren’t trying at all to look at any alternatives to aborting the baby. I would suggest you re-read the article to gain a bit more understanding.
Well said ravenclaw. I agree. Gabe’s comments bothered me greatly.
Our family adopted a 12-year-old girl this week. In our studies, we learned that the English word adoption is derived from the Latin and literally means “choose.”
I believe there would be a consensus to choose life if we can wrest this issue from the courts and put it back on the legislative floors of America. As far as this article, such dramatic stories of life, victory and hope should be shared over and over and over…
Thanks Michelle for a very uplifting story. It is wonderful to know that where there is life there is hope and it is amazing how strong the will to survive is even in the womb. This story really made our day in the Boomer household.
Ravenclaw,
You say:
Substitute the word “kill” for the euphemism “terminate” and you’ll understand how heartless the mother and the doctors were.
I’m Catholic, and I can fully understand why the Catholic Church considers abortion ALWAYS and in every circumstance to be wrong and has for the past 2000 years.
This story highlights the wisdom of the Catholic Church’s position.
The article states:
The baby was past the sixth month and the parents try to kill him with a late term abortion to save the brother.
I’m in the medical field and have been for 20 years. Anyone in this field, isn’t a “god”; just someone making the best decision based on the evidence at hand. Sometimes, you have to go on gut instinct (experience) to make such decisions. I’m not saying I agree with the doctors there, but I can understand what decision they made. Someday, medicine will be a “cut & dry” field where every decision is the correct one. Until then, I cut them some “slack”. There has been a few times, when I wondered whether it was all worth the effort.
It would be kinder to let him die in the womb with his brother by his side than to die alone after being born.
Um, yeah, right - I’m positive this did not come from any church minister, but perhaps a “doctor” who was way out of his field of expertise when he made that proclamation.
On November 3rd, 2007 at 12:26 pm, Mrs. Happy Housewife said:
Doctors are frequently wrong when assessing babies in the womb.
Yes, indeedy. I’ve heard many stories of moms being told their child was missing fingers or limbs, who then suffered through the rest of the pregnancy worried about the baby, only to have the baby born with all fingers/limbs intact. They are indeed frequently wrong when assessing babies in the womb.
Gabe
It is important to note that in England, abortion is not available after the 11th week of conception. I too am pro-life, but these people were faced with a difficult choice, and unless you find yourself in the same position, I would reserve any rush to judgement.
A quick observation - the “wicked” attempt to spare one instead of lose both, probably saved both.
Division of the placenta stopped the abnormal distribution of placental transfer, which is dangerous to both twins. If it was an inadvertant win for life, it’s still a win.
Now that comments are working again…
Thank you for the good story of the day. The Kleenex was definitely needed.
I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day.
Though how would you like to be this kid in 16 years when he googles his name and sees this story?
Gabe:
I respect that you’re Catholic and that the church teaches that, but I’m pretty well-versed in the Bible and no where in does it ever address this issue, meaning that to presume it is automatically wrong is one of pure speculation. I believe that it is one of those things where there is no “wrong” decision. I know you’ll say, “The Bible says ‘Do not kill (the actual verb is murder)’.” But you’re also saying that you’re equating this particular decision with murder. That’s like saying anyone who is being told they have to choose between two people dying (by not choosing at all) or one dying is guilty of murder when they choose. How? I have heard of things like this happening to new Christian converts in unfriendly territories. Should we condemn someone because they made that choice? This pregnancy issue is one of those dilemmas that I pray no one is ever in.
As the article stated (yet again I emphasize this), the doctors had no hope for one baby and wanted to save the life of the other. They agreed that the other baby was in danger of dying as well. Explain how this is “heartless”. They wanted to save a life of one baby when it looked like both would die. You saying that they wanted to kill one baby makes it sound like they were dead-set on killing something that day. From the article it sound like that isn’t the case.
You’re being dogmatic through and through. You haven’t stated any clear evidence on why her decision was wrong, other than the Catholic Church’s teaching. To sit in judgment on someone that had to make a choice between one baby or none is, to me, unfair and unwise.
I have to go with ravenclaw07 on this one - it was a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils. Sometimes life is like that. Not too long ago, someone posted a story where a mother, forced to choose between having an abortion, or probably dying and leaving her two young sons orphans in time of war, chose to abort. It was not a matter of convenience to the mother - it was a matter of whose life to save.I am just glad that God worked this case out in the nicest possible way.
Hate to bring movies up as an example, but have you ever seen U-571, or Master and Commander? Both have a situation where the commander must sacrifice a crew member to save the ship, which I believe provides an analogy to this situation.
Incidently, the first thing I thought when I read this was “oh, but its not a baby till its born!” (Sarcasm, obviously) The tissue blob was fighting for its life! I am still waiting for the pro-abortion folks to explain exactly when the fetus becomes a human being and what exactly changes between the two…
Ravenclaw:
Have you ever heard Jeremiah 1:4: “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I knit you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.’ “?
Man is made in God’s image, and the decisions of life and death should not be made my man. There are also countless passages about “being fruitful” and the importance of the dignity of the human being. I think you need to re-study your Bible if you think it doesn’t make a pretty damn strong pro-life case.
As pointed out above, pre-natal care is not an exact science. There are COUNTLESS stories about women who receive abnormal test results, ultrasounds, etc., but have perfectly healthy babies, or - like my friend - doctors who predict wrong due dates and baby weight, so the baby is born 5 weeks earlier than expected.
This mother had an obligation to get a second or third opinion and then explore alternatives to abortion. There are many cases of twins being of differing size for reasons that usually aren’t fatal. To jump from sick baby to abortion is a misguided step at best.
The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception. There is no fuzzy thinking on this - it’s an explicit teaching. To end a life is murder. That seems pretty good evidence for me.
Period. The “flexibility” of this definition (when does life begin, etc.) has opened wide the door for other horrors. Don’t believe me? Look up Peter Singer and see what wisdom he imparts (here’s a hint: he thinks babies up to the age of one are NOT HUMAN, and therefore killing them should not be a crime). Nice, huh?
And did you know that abortion has led to the murder of children who are “imperfect”? Children with harelips or cleft palates (deformities that are easily treatable after birth) are being aborted, as are children with Down Syndrome.
A brief bit of research into Margaret Sanger - the foundress of
Planned ParenthoodPlanned Barrenhood - shows she desired to “cull the herd” of undesirables - the unintelligent, the deformed, and racial minorities.Thanks to the supporters of “choice”, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Those very same supporters of abortion who are so big on “women’s health” when it comes to abortion sure turn away from those very same women post-abortion when women have mental, emotional, and physical scars that last a lifetime. And the counselors at
Planned ParenthoodPlanned Barrenhood aren’t exactly there to lend a helping hand, you know.Abuse language if you will by calling abortion a “choice”, but abortion is never the right answer.
I am very grateful that this little boy survived. And I hope his life is a testament to the importance of respecting the dignity of every single human being from conception to natural death.
englishqueen01:
Well thought out, but wrong.
First, the Bible verse you used from Jeremiah is about Jeremiah himself being appointed as a prophet. Now, I’m not saying it doesn’t apply to everyone, but using verses out of context is quite dangerous.
You said “sick baby”. The reason they tried to terminate wasn’t because the baby was sick. It was because trying to bring both to term would endanger the life of the other. Basically, killing two babies because of the defect of one.
I know that prenatal care isn’t an exact science, but you’re also presuming the doctor wasn’t accurate in his assessment. What if, in 90% of the cases, the result would be what the doctor said, regardless of how many opinions were sought out? Who’s to say the mother did not try and seek other opinions? Another assumption without warrant. Even if she didn’t, are we also to assume the doctor was incompetent? No, I would rather believe that he thought the outcome would be like other documented cases and went with precedent. Not always right, but understandable.
This is classic straw-man. At no time did I ever imply that killing imperfect babies was acceptable, so why bring it up? The analogies are not the same. I was alluding to the fact that one baby’s defect was the cause of a life-dangering situation for the other. This is crucial to the point. This was never about a convenience. It was a choice between one dead or both dead.
I’m not Catholic and, while I agree with the statement, it seems pretty obvious this situation was about preserving a life. Let me state again: the situation is one baby does or both die. I don’t think this is not as clear-cut as one thinks.
Screw Margaret Sanger. She was creepy eugenics beast that had no problem with trying to sterilize “undesirables”. But how does this relate to this situation? It doesn’t.
I’ve always seen abortion as, mostly, peoples’ way of not growing up and accepting the consequences of their actions. They want to mess around, but not incur any cost. I hate the term “choice”. But here, we do not have that issue. Yet again, this was about saving one life or condemning both to die. I am glad it turned out favorably, but hindsight is 20/20. Who’s to say there was not an equally good chance it would have gone the other way had to decided not to abort?
I am not saying her actions were right. I am saying that she was not wrong. Some are jumping to the conclusion, after the fact, saying, “She was wrong, wrong, wrong!”. I think this is not very wise. Maybe God will change my mind later on and I welcome it. But for now, I think this is a matter than is more complex than people think.
Gabe, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Who the hell are you to judge?
I love it! God bless the little family! Good for the boys for watching out for each other from the start!!! That’s what families should do!!!!!! NICE!!!!!!!!!!
dakine:
There’s no need for the harshness, dakine. I fully respect Gabe’s position. I just felt that he incorrectly assumed the mother wanted to kill her child as opposed to trying to save another. Judging people based on difficult decisions well after the results with only an article as reference to what was going on during the pregnancy is, to me, far too easy and far too unwise.
Like I said, I’m willing for God to change my mind if need be. Until then, this is my view on this matter.
While I’m not a medical person (AND I’m pro-life), this sounds like gross incompetence on the part on the physicians.
Proponents of socialized medicine should be required to receive medical treatment in countries with such systems in place.
THEN, we’d see how much they really want to bring it to our shores.
The more I thought about this, ravenclaw, the more I’m firm in my position.
Why didn’t the doctors explore other alternatives? As zb42 says above, it sounds like incompetence on the part of the physician - and perhaps the PHYSICIAN’S laziness that preyed on the (justifiably worried and protective) mother.
While no professional, it sounds as if perhaps the splitting of the placenta should be researched as an alternative to direct abortion.
I still don’t buy the argument that sacrificing one child to save another is the line drawn in the sand on this issue. That’s like shoving one of your children into a fire because you think you only have time to get one out of the house.
I understand your position, but I still argue that women and children deserve better than this procedure.
With regards to the other issues I raised, I wasn’t speaking at you directly but at people who think abortion is this wonderful thing that’s as painless and with as little consequence as going to the hairdresser. They often don’t care, or ignore, the issues that stem directly from abortion, and I’ve run across several pro-choice folks who are more than quick to deny or mock the suffering of women who’ve had abortions and come to regret them.
Thanks for being civil in this debate.
This is a miracle baby. Those who have had the opportunity to see miracles up close and personal know just how wonderful this is. Go Rocky
englishqueen01:
Thank you for being civil as well. Liberals would probably have a conniption at our kind of dialogue.
I understand your position and I respect it. I do believe that the procedure now opens new opportunities that should be explored.
I don’t, however, believe it was incompetence. That could have well been the case, but since I have no idea about this doctor’s experience and credentials, I can’t say. I’m more inclined to believe that this situation is a rare one that either had no precedent or had a precedent that gave the desired result (one child alive). I think that they didn’t regularly deal with this kind of thing and went with the best knowledge they had. But I think this is an occasion for science to explore more ways to preserve life and I believe God had a hand in it.
Still, like I said before, I am willing for God to change my mind about this or clarify it later on in life. I am glad that a subject as touchy as this could be done in a civil, yet rigorous, manner. See ya around.
I was going to write something, but kept backing off. Here’s my take:
The parents and the doctor(s) wanted the best possible outcome and made a decision under very difficult circumstances.
They got the best possible outcome, didn’t they? Thank God.
When our son was born 43 yrs ago this month, he was called a mongoloid idiot and a cleric told me we must have done something wrong…this was God’s punishment.
The most help came from other parents - doctors and clergy didn’t handle stuff well then and probably are not much better now. His sheltered workshop has already sent Thanksgiving cards to Iraq! Will you do the same?
Great post USMCramma. Your thoughts and personal experience nicely underscore the sanctimonious and judgmental attitude of people such as Gabe.
#36 - Thanks! How anyone could find evil intent in that beautiful story just blew my mind.