Posted on 01/15/2009 6:47:51 AM PST by Balt
A Catholic woman from Portsmouth who is pregnant with a rare form of Siamese twins has spoke of her desire to see them born.
Lisa Chamberlain, 25, had a scan last week which showed her embryo had two heads and one body - making them dicephalus twins. The staunch Catholic said doctors advised her to undergo an abortion, but this was ruled out after talking over the matter with husband Mike. Mrs Chamberlain said: "To me, my twins are a gift from God and we're determined to give them a chance of life."
The twins were diagnosed after the former RSPCA worker was taken into the city's St Mary's Hospital on Wednesday with back pain. She had fallen pregnant on December 18. She added: "Some might think my twins are strange, but to me they're just special. Everything happens for a reason. Mike and I have spent over seven years trying to have children and we might not get another go."
The couple hope the babies will follow the example of US Siamese twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel. They were born in March 1990 with shared organs below the navel and are still alive. But conjoined twins expert Professor Lewis Spitz said that Mrs Chamberlain's embryo should be terminated. They would have a greater risk of infection, he said, and have two heads controlling one side of the body's nervous impulses.
uncredited story from Total Catholic
Interesting choice of words, don't ya think? It's the first time I've heard of someone "falling pregnant." Although Planned Parenthood's been touting pregnancy as a disease for years. I wonder how long it will be before an obituary for a woman who dies in childbirth will read, "...lost a battle with pregnancy...."
I'm also intrigued by the proclamation by the "conjoined twins expert" who decrees that the babies need to be "terminated" because they have a greater risk of infection. Your PP is a diabetic and also has a greater risk of infection. And a lot of people look at me like I have two heads.
I guess I'll just nip off and shoot myself then. See ya.
May God bless the Chamberlains and guide the medical staff who will be caring for them.
No matter what happens this is going to be difficult for the family, may God Bless them and give then strength beyond understanding.
free markets as a disease, socialism as the cure.
IMHO
Falling pregnant is a British term.
Surely PP knows suicide is illegal. However, he surely needn't work too hard to envision scenarios where Universal Healthcare Enforcers might take care of that for him, in a much more humane way, of course.
Saw an episode on one of large family / medical mystery channels about the girls with two heads and one body. An example of parental love and care.
Sarah Palin says special needs children are a gift from God. She is right.
“Fall pregnant” is used mainly in Britain. In the U.S., one is more likely to see “found herself pregnant” or similar locutions. Both versions have the “advantage” of occluding any human agency or responsibility from the occurence of pregnancy.
These babies are truly blessed already to have such a wise and loving Mother. May God be with them all.
I respect the parents’ decision, but don’t disrespect the expert’s advice. The expert presumably provided the recommendation based on experience with the many variations of “conjoined twins”, and based on detailed information from ultrasound images about how they are joined. A lot of conjoined twins simply can’t survive at all, while others require only simple surgery to separate them, as they have only minimal connections. A very few can’t be separated and do fine anyway, like the Hensels. But even some of those are totally miserable, like the Iranian twin women who were joined at the head, and who chose as adults to pursue separation surgery even though they were advised there was a very large chance it would kill them both — and it did. Hopefully the expert was wrong, and the parents, after prayerful consideration, made the right call.
Prayer for the Helpless Unborn
Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect against the wickedness of the
devil,
those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.
Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today
who are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image
- as well as theirs - made for eternal life.
Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts
to love their babies and give them birth
and all the needed care that a mother can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with You and Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.
That’s a very common phrase in the UK. It sounds odd to our ears but no doubt we have phrases which sound odd to them.
It's a Britishism ... don't make too much of it.
...Hopefully the expert was wrong, and the parents, after prayerful consideration, made the right call.
But, Shrinker, there is no judgement call to be made here, since the deliberate taking of innocent life, no matter what it's condition, quality or life-expectancy, is always wrong. If the twins die after birth, they die. If they suffer, they suffer. But no one has the right to kill them.
They show US whether or not we are worthy. The Least of Thee and all that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.