Posted on 12/27/2015 7:32:12 PM PST by Morgana
At 21 weeks gestation, Sarah Hynes learned that her preborn son, Seán, had Edward’s syndrome, or Trisomy 18. Hynes had never heard of the condition and was devastated when doctors told her that her son was “incompatible with life.â€
Told that she had the option to abort, Hynes knew immediately that she would choose life for Seán.
“I knew straightaway that’s not how I wanted to deal with this situation,†she told Newstalk FM.
She continued with the pregnancy, knowing that at any moment she could miscarry. Even if Seán survived the pregnancy, there was no way to know how long he would live outside the womb.
“It was hard,†explained Hynes. “I’m not going to lie. It was hard. We had good days and bad days. We tried our best to make good memories.â€
Her twin daughters, age 14, were told about their brother’s condition, and were in agreement that he should not be aborted.
Hynes said she had explained her reasoning to them, saying: “It’s not up to me to end his life. I’m his mother, it was my job to protect him. I wanted to give him that chance. I just couldn’t give up on him.â€
Seán survived the pregnancy and his birth, and lived for two days outside the womb. Hynes calls those two days a blessing. A photographer took photographs at the hospital, and everyone from the family was there to meet Seán, hold him, and love him.
“He was never touched by the evils of this world,†Hynes said. “He only knew love.â€
Hynes calls Seán a “fighter,†and says she has no regrets about her decision to refuse abortion, saying she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she had.
“It wasn’t my decision to end his life,†Hynes explained. “I wanted to give him the best chance possible. I know his time was short. It was only two days. But it was his life all the same. It was two days that we wouldn’t have got if we had gone down that route [of abortion].â€
Hynes is upset by the fact that her doctors didn’t have any pamphlets of information available on Trisomy 18, and she had to go home to Google the information, most of which she found to be incorrect. She wants parents to have accurate, up-to-date information when learning of a diagnosis for their child.
While most people born with Trisomy 18 don’t live long after birth, some defy the odds, including Donnie Heaton who lived to be 22 years old.
My wife was 38 when she got pregnant with our daughter and the physician warned us of the higher risk of Down’s Syndrome and asked if we wanted and amniocenteses. We knew from the beginning that we would choose life for her and declined. Thankfully she was born perfect and is a smart 14 year old space nerd and wants to be an astronaut that goes to Mars.
Good for her. I hope she realizes she’s about to get crucified by The Party of Compassion.
To heck with that! Mars is so over rated! Tell your daughter to be on the first ship to Kepler 415b!
She doesn’t want to colonize Mars, just be on a scientific expedition there and back.
“Thankfully she was born perfect and is a smart 14 year old space nerd and wants to be an astronaut that goes to Mars.”
I dabbled with the idea of being an astronaut for a while, but, alas, I am too short. Hope your daughter is successful. :)
Oh but Kepler is so nice, specially this time of year!
It changes you forever to give life to a helpless little soul who has only hours, days, or months to live on earth. That is the ultimate gift: knowing how painful it will be for you, but giving all you have for your child. It is beautiful. Every family who does as this family did is blessed so much by this chance to give pure love, just pure love without wanting anything in return. And the little angels deserve those short lives wrapped in love.
I wish medicine would return to the Hippocratic Oath.
Venus not so much.
I had amnios, just to know, but I would never have aborted the baby. I did like knowing what one could know. And my special needs boy didn’t have a special need that showed up. Can you imagine if autism and other needs did show up on an amnio? Why do parents need their child to be “perfect” before birth but afterward, they will love and fight for their child with needs? It’s hypocritical. If your 18 year old son loses a hand in an accident, why don’t you bring him out behind the barn and shoot him? Be a mensch: love your child as he is, even before he is born.
In scientific jargon, these babies have lethal mutations.
I would not condemn someone for aborting a terminally ill baby. However, I think they are emotionally and psychologically better off if they go ahead and have the baby. With abortion, there is always some doubt—what if the tests were wrong, mixed up in the lab or something? And the mother has the knowledge that she had her child killed. When the child dies naturally, there is no doubt, and the mother does not have to live with knowing she killed her child.
There are hospices for women pregnant with terminally ill infants. They seem to be very compassionate and understanding.
Mrs. henkster’s college roommate’s daughter Lois had Trisomy 18. She passed a year ago at age 13. The surgeries and medical complications were staggering. However, her parents were Christians and never questioned their choice to accept God’s gift and provided a loving home as best they could.
It is so ridiculous, your child will likely not live long, so he/she should be killed straight away.
What irony, of course.
They can’t even manage to do the choice part of “pro choice” right.
My mom was 42 when I was born... Of course some of you will say that is the reason I post like I do...
I have no experience with this situation, but I agree with you, and Sarah's decision.
I have a great Grandmother that was 46 when she had my Grandmother, and her husband was 57. My Grandmother was born in 1890.
Glad you kept your baby. Our son and wife had a Trisomy 18 baby a few years ago. He survived 31 weeks in the womb. They named him Kyle. Broke their hearts to birth a baby already gone. They were so hoping to hold him alive if only for a few minutes. Four months ago, they were blessed with another beautiful, healthy baby boy.
An incredibly brave woman. Kudos to her for choosing life and prayers to her family.
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