A couple in Oregon are suing the hospital because their child was born with Down’s Syndrome. A CVS test during pregnancy said that the baby was healthy. Therefore, the couple went ahead with the birth. Now, after the baby was born with Down’s Syndrome, they are suing the hospital saying they would have aborted the child if they had known it had the birth defect.
Wow.
We have so many emotions flowing at this point. Erica and I first heard of the story while listening to 590 KLBJ this morning. We immediately called in and talked to the talk show hosts. We shared our story and the hosts were supportive of our point of view.
Robin’s thoughts:
- I get angry at the people and think ‘how low could you go’.
- I think ‘all they want is money’.
- If you would end your child’s life in the womb, then why not end it now?
- Hospital tests always have a chance of a ‘false’ positive or negative so even from a legal standpoint, how could you prove that they are liable.
- Where is personal responsibility? There is always a chance of birth defects (no matter the age of the mother).
Then, after a lot of pondering, there are 2 thoughts that make the most sense.
- We can’t expect people without the grace and mercy of God to value life or have the strength to live in dire circumstances. We often forget how much grace and mercy we have been given by Jesus. We expect others to have the same standard of living, strength for living, and outlook on living. They do not. Humanity, on its own, is extremely selfish and self serving. Humanity without Jesus sues for dumb things.
- Hopefully, this couple will find out in the near future, the value of their child and they will be extremely thankful for her life. If they would have ended her life, they would have ended a miracle of meaning. A new definition of life, meaning, and significance is being written. Will they read and understand the writing in the life of their child? We are praying for them.
We had the same choice in 2001. This is what happened to us.
Our dear Friends, Jeffrey and Teana Ross have an amazing organization called Upside of Down.
Have to weigh in on this. My husband and I found ourselves facing a similar situation with the birth of our son. Blood tests were positive for spina bifida. Second round of blood tests, even more positive for spina bifida. Our faith in the Lord is strong and we never even considered not having him, but wanting to be prepared for what lay ahead, we went on to have an amniocnetesis. Upon arrival to the office to have it done (not my OB doc but a specialist at another office) we were made to watch a video on the issues that come with having a disabled child. Including statements from people who regretted having their child born. The tests revealed that he did not have any genetic issues or disabilities and since they were looking at DNA, I took it as a hard truth that all was well. When I had to have an emergency c section due to my high bloos pressure 5 weeks early a sono was done to determine position and lung maturity. They found he had a life threatening heart defect and we were told if he made it through birth he would need at least heart surgery and at most a heart transplant. Long story short, due to a miracle, even the docs had no other explanation, his heart healed itself. I could give you several other stories of friends who have had similar situations with happy and sad outcomes. But with faith in the Lord, all things are possible.I am sad for people who cannot see the blessings right in front of them.
That is an amazing story. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing Rachel! What an amazing testimony. God is faithful in all things!