Heather O'Connor with her son Jake
Posted on 07/23/2007 10:22:11 AM PDT by Stoat
A couple were advised by medical experts to abort their unborn child amid fears he would be severely disabled - but he was born perfectly healthy.
Heather O'Connor and Jamie Bramley went through months of turmoil after being told that scans suggested part of the baby's brain could be missing. But Jake, their first baby, arrived weighing a healthy 7lb 9oz - and with no defects.
Consultants at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester had recommended Heather should abort her child early in her pregnancy in March. But the couple asked for a second opinion and a professor at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield disagreed, saying he believed the child's brain was normal.
Heather O'Connor with her son Jake
St Mary's doctors continued to have serious concerns until April, when they said a further ultrasound scan had indicated the child was fine. However, in May, a St Mary's consultant again said they believed the baby's brain was abnormal.
Heather and Jamie decided against a further examination at Sheffield and decided to go ahead with the pregnancy.
Jamie, 24, and Heather, 19, of Heaton Chapel, Stockport, spoke of their anguish in the months before Jake's birth.
It started after a scan at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport suggested the child had swelling on the brain and Heather was referred to St Mary's.
Heather had a detailed scan there and doctors said the baby had brain swelling and might have a rare defect. "They said he may end up brain dead or severely disabled," said Jamie.
"They said the scan was 99 per cent reliable and recommended abortion. We were distraught. I asked for further investigations, but the doctor said he was rarely wrong.
"Heather was very distressed and we agreed to go to Sheffield for an MRI scan. The professor at Sheffield said that in his opinion, the baby may be fine. But then at St Mary's, a doctor said the pictures from Sheffield were inaccurate to him.
"We were more confident after seeing the expert at Sheffield, but because of St Mary's views, there was always an awful doubt in our minds."
Heather said: "You didn't know who to believe. But after our experience, maybe other people will not give up hope if something similar happens."
The Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs St Mary's, said: "The decision whether or not to terminate a pregnancy because of a suspected abnormality is a highly individual one and we take great care to ensure patients are aware of all of the facts to allow them to make an informed decision."
The trust said it would 'not actively recommend or dissuade' patients from choosing a termination, but apologised if the family 'were given the impression that they were being advised to take this option'.
Hopefully this story might spur some to consider trusting God over the State-sanctioned, professional murderers.
Hillary Care coming soon to a hospital near you!........
Reminds me of the stupid a$$hole nurse-midwife who told us our first son had an 80% chance of being born with Down Syndrome.
Thanks for posting. God Bless the family.
St. Mary's Hospital??? Recommending abortion????
Disgusting detail. Needs to be renamed 'Peter Sanger Hospital', not after the Blessed Mother.
“Hillary Care coming soon to a hospital near you!........”
Yeah
Thanks for posting this story. God Bless that lady for not giving up on her child.
This is what will happen with Hillary Care.
A friend of mine was told her child would be a Down’s Syndrome child...the doc was wrong. What emotional turmoil he put that family through!!!
Perhaps my hope and trust is misplaced, but I have trouble believing that a majority of Americans would allow such a thing. Even so, the Socialists never care about the majority and will continue trying to sneak Socialist "healthcare" in the back door by misrepresenting it and fooling people....eternal vigilance is essential.
good place to bump this thread
Wonderful news!
St. Mary of the Regrettably Mistaken Diagnosis. Or St. Mary of the Unvalued Fetus. Probably a secular humanist “St. Mary” . . .
“What emotional turmoil he put that family through!!!”
There ought to be legal recourse for these parents pain & emotional suffering. Time to put an end to these misguided, so-called medical experts, playing god type of advice.
Add this to mal-practice and it might stop.
Reminded me of a ‘B’ movie, Basket Case (1982),
Plot Outline: A young man carrying a big basket that contains his deformed Siamese-twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083624/
What a cutie Jake is! God bless this family...and thank God they did the right thing and trusted in God that their baby would be OK.
How often is an autopsy performed on the aborted fetus to determine if the diagnosis was accurate?
My guess would be 0% of the time.
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