Everybody seems to forget the definition of abortion. To abort something is to stop an action after it has already commenced and before that action reaches its natural or intended conclusion. It would be great if our politicians remembered that.
When my daughter was 29 weeks pregnant, her blood pressure skyrocketed. It became so high that her doctor called an ambulance to take her to a specialty hospital right then and there. She was in grave danger of either having a heart attack or a stroke and the danger was imminent and life-threatening.
Once at the hospital, the doctors gave her some dire options. They needed to induce labor but it was so early that the baby might not survive. What they wanted to do was provide a drug that would more rapidly mature the baby’s lungs but that treatment would delay the induction of labor. My daughter might not live those extra 5-7 days. But that was their best advice at hopefully save both her and her baby’s lives. Or, they could induce labor immediately but that option would lower the odds of the baby’s survival but it would increase her odds of survival.
My daughter chose to treat the fetus and hope for the best. All the while I was so scared. My daughter had two other children at home who needed her. If she died, two wonderful kids would be without a mom, a husband without a wife and I would lose my first-born and my very best friend. The waiting was torture.
After 5 days the doctors said it was now or never. What treatment they could do for my daughter’s blood pressure wasn’t enough to take her out of danger, they needed to get that baby out!
My grandson was born at 30 weeks, weighed 3lbs 8oz and against all odds was able to breathe on his own, eat on his own and did not have to stay in intensive care. They let me hold him. It was a miracle. They were able to aggressively treat my daughter’s blood pressure which did not go down on its own after the birth. My grandson was able to leave the hospital after only 4 weeks.
When lawmakers talk about criminalizing doctors who perform abortions they would like to have killed my daughter and grandson. They don’t understand what or late-term abortions are or why they are necessary. My daughter had exactly that…. a late-term abortion. It goal of that abortion was to save a life, hopefully two lives. Imagine if the doctors were threatened with criminal charges if my grandson would have died? Most doctors would be forced to choose self-preservation over the lives of their patients. They would have sent my daughter home to either die or stroke out and be a vegetable and most likely killing the baby she carried. They would have deprived her husband and children of her life, her love, her very being.
THIS is the abortion we need to talk about in this debate.