Over the last two weeks in our church in St Jérôme, one family gave birth to twins while another lost triplets. Other families are pregnant as I write this post. Problems in pregnancy are on the minds of many in our congregation.

Our daughter, Constance (who is now one-and-a-half: (photo at right taken at 6 months)), was diagnosed with a brain abnormality in utero that can be conducive to downs syndrome.  The Quebecker doctor presented the option of abortion to us... which we categorically refused. Imagine if we would have taken the advice and aborted her? Absolutely convinced that every life is a gift from God and precious, we never would have done that, but millions of people without this conviction are often presented with the same scenario we were.

The result in our case? Constance was born perfectly healthy. Although we would have welcomed Constance as an equally sublime gift from God even if she had not been born completely healthy.

Here is the quote that jumped out at me as I read nearly tragic article which follows:

"I feel incredibly guilty thinking that I could have killed him – and then I find myself wondering how many other babies are killed who would have turned out to be completely healthy."

We as a western society are choosing our children like we choose our cars. We want to choose the time, place, and model. If don't like what we see on the test drive, then back it goes... we want another one... one that will suit my tastes better. One that will be more convenient for me. This is a tragedy.

But the tragedy is doubled when doctors use dubious information at best, to try to influence mothers, who would never consider an abortion on their own, to terminate their own offspring.  

Here is the article:

In Perfect health, the baby doctors said would be born deaf and blind... and live only a few hours. 

By JO MACFARLANE - More by this author » Last updated at 08:45am on 25th February, 2008

A couple who were advised to abort their baby when doctors said he had a rare brain disorder have spoken of their joy after their "miracle son" was born in perfect health.

Little Brandon Kramer was diagnosed with rhombo -encephalo -synapsis – a condition so rare it affects fewer than one in a million people worldwide – while he was still in the womb.

Doctors warned his mother and father that Brandon would be born deaf and blind and would probably survive only for a couple of hours.

It is believed to be the first time in Britain that the condition has been diagnosed during pregnancy – and Becky Weatherall and her partner Kriss Kramer were offered a termination up to just weeks before the birth.

But the couple defied doctors' advice and their son was born healthy on October 1 last year.

Now Brandon is teething and attempting to talk, and Kriss, 24, from Pembroke Dock, South Wales, said: "The fact that he is here now, alive and kicking, truly is a miracle.

"The doctors say that he has defied all the odds but it's really more than that because he wasn't given any odds at all.

"He was written off completely and we believed he was 100 per cent certain to be handicapped."

Becky, 23, whose father Paul Weatherall is Mayor of Pembroke Dock, said: "I feel incredibly guilty thinking that I could have killed him – and then I find myself wondering how many other babies are killed who would have turned out to be completely healthy.

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