Today Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and her husband Daniel announced the birth of their daughter, Abigail Rose Beutler. This two week old miracle is being called the first baby to survive a prenatal diagnosis previously considered fatal.
Last month, Congresswoman Herrera Beutler (left) posted an announcement via facebook that her first child had been diagnosed in-utero with Potter’s Syndrome. Considered fatal, Potter’s Syndrome is “associated with a deficiency in amniotic fluid often caused by a baby’s prenatal kidney failure.” In addition to having kidney failure, without sufficient amniotic fluid in the womb the baby’s lungs are usually severely underdeveloped.
Babies with Potter’s Syndrome are usually aborted, but Congresswoman Herrera Beutler and her husband chose life – and prayed for a miracle.
And although they call themselves “pro-choice,” some abortion supporters did not react kindly to this choice. One person responding to a story online at The Huffington Post wrote: “Abort the baby. Wait a few months. Get pregnant again. This is not a big deal.”
But that’s just it – it is a big deal. “It” is a human person. And her name is Abigail.
The pro-life position holds that each human being is unique, unrepeatable, and meant for this world. We are suffering today for want of the more than 40 million lives that have been lost to abortion in our nation.
THAT is a big deal.
Abigail’s mom and dad know that – and they were courageous in fighting, against all odds, for her life. They found a team of specialized doctors willing to help them and hope with them for Abigail’s future – doctors who honored their oath to first do no harm.
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
After her mom underwent multiple “amnioinfusion” treatments, Abigail became the first baby on record born with kidney failure to breathe sustainably on her own. In the statement released today, the Beutler family explained that this was a “relatively uncommon treatment.”
“There was no way to know if this treatment would be effective or to track lung development,” continued Jaime and Daniel. “But with hearts full of hope, we put our trust in the Lord and continued to pray for a miracle.”
And that miracle’s name is Abigail.
How much more uncommon would this treatment be without her? Without her parents?
Without them it is not hard to imagine a world where doctors never took risks, never thought creatively about how to save the lives of their patients. It is stories like this that remind us of the uniqueness of each person. Abigail is only two weeks old, but she has already taught the world so much!
