Posted on 09/05/2017 8:24:14 AM PDT by simpson96
August 24, 2017 (SPUC) — All too often, parents are pressured by doctors to undergo genetic screening, and even to abort their babies if it is thought they have a disability. Now a video where an actress hilariously relates how she resisted this pressure is going viral.
When actress Lynn Fergusson (most famous for voicing Mac in Chicken Run) became pregnant with her first child at the age of 37, she was surprised to find that her pregnancy was labeled "geriatric." However, she was even more surprised by the relentless pressure doctors put on her first to undergo an amniocentesis, and then to abort her baby. Her talk, published by storytelling website The Moth, is related with humor, and is a beautiful example of a mother determined to do the best for her son.
The pressure begins
From the beginning, Fergusson was determined not to have the amniocentesis, which carries a 1 percent risk of miscarriage. "It’s not technically the baby’s fault that I’m old, you know," she said. "So I’m not gonna take a risk. Not unless there’s a good reason."(snip)
But the doctors continued to push, first because they suspected Down's syndrome, and then, terrifyingly, Edwards' syndrome, a condition where most babies die in the womb, or shortly after birth. Her response was amazing:
"You know, we had so many scans," said Ferguson. "I had seen my son. I’d seen his heart. I’d seen the inside of his eyes. (snip) He was my son and he needed me. He depended on me to make the right decision. So I said, ‘No.'"
(Excerpt) Read more at lifesitenews.com ...
She looks 47, but God Bless her.
And she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Yup. Too bad her ob didn’t accept the first no and then do only the scans (two) needed to help with delivery decisions
Glad she was a mom from the get go
My mother was 37 when I was born...
My mother gave birth to a healthy, normal red-headed baby girl. Now, she would have accepted the baby even if she was Down Syndrome. But, that poor excuse for a doctor made her life hell for 9 months.
"...She looks 47..."
I was 40 when I had our last son. Kaiser pressured me too, to have the omnio and labeled me “at risk”. I refused on the grounds of my “religion”, which they reluctantly accepted. Yes, we too had a beautiful healthy 9.5 lb baby boy without any blemish. Thank you Jesus.
I once asked a doctor about the amnio test and that it sounded to me like “search and destroy” and he said “No, it is search and prepare.” And I said “Prepare to destroy?” He didn’t like that response.
She’s 52 now, she was 37 when they called her pregnancy geriatric.
I like her haircut: it’s a lot like mine! I was 45 when my youngest child was born.
“search and destroy” is exactly right. The little Kaiser nurse that was offering the amnio test to me later told me a sad story. She said she too was pregnant a while back, had an amnio, and was told there was something wrong with her baby. At six months, she worried so much about the baby, she had a miscarriage. The baby was perfectly fine afterall. She quietly said to me, I’m glad you refused the test. The test destroyed her perfectly healthy pregnancy, and any joy in anticipating the arrival of her baby.
In 1988 I was 35 and refused amnio and I don’t think they had a blood test at that time for diseases like Down Syndrome...which wouldn’t have made a difference.
As to the amnio I told my doctor that no matter what amnio showed I wasn’t going to abort. So because I refused the test, I had to sign a document, have it
notarized, the whole bit, stating that I was refusing the test and if the baby was
born with a problem that could have been picked up by the amnio, then we would not sue for “wrongful birth.” That was almost 30 years ago. Now with all the specific testing, I’m sure the pressure to have the tests is so much stronger.
Thank you for sharing this.
Yes, all you women love those short haired MEN’s haircuts and tell each other “Oh its SO CUTE!”
It’s not.
That was rude.
Heartbreaking story.
I have a 7 mos old child. The pressure to take the test was there, but mild pressure. We were reassured there was no need to extract amniotic fluid like the old days. I asked my wife if she would want and love her baby regardless. It was insulting to ask her, but I did for the Doctor’s sake. Then I told the doctor no to the test. We were asked 1 or 2 more times by the doctor. And again when an advanced ultrasound was done by the doctor doing that. We told the 2nd doctor the same thing as the first and that was that. All told the pressure was very mild. There was no disclosure to sign. And like the woman in this article, my wife was considered old, at the age of 38.
It’s a very becoming haircut on certain women, and those it suits usually can’t wear longer styles as well as they can the pixie.
Once in awhile I’ll be around a woman who has just cut her hair short and other women tell her it’s “so cute”. It’s self serving is it not to encourage other women to reduce their beauty to men? I am curious if most of the women who cut their hair short do it with or without prior knowledge and approval of their husbands.
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