Survivors: 10 real stories of children born after an abortion attempt
It seems that only the mother decides whether her child is destined to be born. But sometimes children survive, despite attempts to have an abortion. In our material, there are 10 stories of people who survived.
Melissa was born in 1977 when her mother tried to terminate her pregnancy at seven months with the help of a saline solution.
During a saline abortion, part of the amniotic fluid is pumped out of the fetal bladder and replaced with a concentrated salt solution. The child painfully dies within a few hours from chemical burns, poisoning and dehydration. After that, the woman artificially causes contractions.
Melissa survived. Having considered her dead, the medical staff threw the girl into a garbage can, where a nurse found and saved the crying baby. Despite the monstrous procedure to which she was subjected, she was not seriously injured. In 2008, Melissa gave birth to a daughter — in the very hospital where her own mother tried to get rid of her.
The stories of Gianna and Melissa are similar, although in the case of Gianna, the consequences of exposure to salt solution were much more serious. The girl's biological mother — a 17-year-old teenager, tried to get rid of the child in the third trimester of pregnancy.
Gianna spent more than 18 hours in a caustic solution and survived. The baby, born with a weight of about a kilogram, was given to foster parents. Due to chemical burns, the girl developed cerebral palsy — doctors were not sure that she would ever be able to walk and talk. But the terrible diagnosis did not stop Gianna — all her life she struggles with muscle weakness, goes in for sports and even took part in the London Marathon.
Sarah's biological mother carried her almost to the end of her term, but at the 36th week of pregnancy she decided to get rid of her. She turned for help to Dr. George Tiller from Of Kansas, which carried out such procedures.
Later it became known that in the arsenal of the doctor there were the most "ancient" and primitive methods of termination of pregnancy — this was evidenced by the entries in his journals. Nevertheless, not a single woman died during the procedure.
They tried to kill Sarah with a lethal injection of potassium chloride. But instead of the heart, the doctor injected the substance into the child's brain.
The girl was born blind, but alive. At the age of six months, she had a stroke. And at the age of five, she died of acute kidney failure. People who knew her said that, despite all the health problems, she looked like a happy and absolutely normal child.
A few years later, Dr. Tiller — the man who performed this procedure-was killed by an anti-abortion activist.
Josiah Presley from Oklahoma is a member of the Abolitionist movement protesting against slavery. Today, the community is also fighting for the abolition of abortions.
Josiah has every reason to support this movement — the boy was born in In Korea, as a result of an illegal abortion, his hand was crippled during the procedure. Little Josiah was adopted by a family from Oklahoma, now he is healthy and happy.
Brandi's biological mother underwent a salt abortion procedure in the fourth month of pregnancy. After the removal of the fetus, the girl was considered dead and was about to be thrown into the trash, but suddenly she raised her hand, as if in protest.
At the age of 27, Brandy learned that her real mother decided to have an abortion for a reason — the fetus was conceived as a result of violence. She herself had to face a difficult choice when in 2003 she was sexually assaulted and became pregnant.
Today, Brandy is an anti-abortion activist. She works tirelessly, speaking in churches, at rallies and in educational institutions. Sometimes during pickets, she has to spend several days or even weeks on the street together with like-minded people.
The story of Imre Teglasi is unique — he survived an abortion attempt at a time when the procedures were not yet carried out legally. His parents were deported from their native country. The mother found out that she was expecting a child and, despite the father's protests, tried to terminate the pregnancy on her own. It didn't work out for her. After carrying the fetus to the end of the term, the woman gave birth to a healthy boy.
According to Teglasi himself, he had a strained relationship with his mother all his life — and it all started even before his father told him the story of his birth. Today, Imre has a doctorate degree and provides assistance to women in a crisis pregnancy situation, communicating with them via a hotline.
Claire's biological mother became pregnant at the age of 13 and decided to have an abortion. The procedure was successful, and she returned home. A few weeks later, she noticed that her stomach had slightly enlarged, and again sought help in the hospital.
The girl was informed that she was still pregnant — during the abortion, a specialist removed one of the twins, and did not notice the second fetus.
A few weeks later, a premature and weak Claire was born. The lower part of her body was in poor condition. It took several years of constant therapy for her hips, legs and feet to develop to normal size. Claire has a good relationship with her mother. She is glad that she did not decide on a second abortion.
All her childhood, because of her unusual appearance, Carrie was bullied by her peers and teachers. She grew up confident that because of her physical disabilities, she would never be able to live a normal life and have children.
Once, unable to stand it, Carrie attempted suicide by drinking a bottle of wine and swallowing pills. The girl was saved, and she devoted her life to helping women who were bullied.
As an adult, Carrie learned the reason for her misfortunes. Her biological mother tried to have an abortion — as a result of the doctor's manipulations, the child's face and internal organs were damaged.
Now Carrie is happily married. She found her husband through the Internet, and he accepted her for what she is. The couple is expecting a child — and maybe two (there are suspicions that Carrie is pregnant with twins).
When Kira's 16-year-old mother found out that she was pregnant, she immediately decided to have an abortion. At the tenth week of pregnancy, she underwent a procedure. Time passed, but she still suffered from toxicosis and ailments. Five months later, Chelsea decided to see a doctor again, who explained to the girl that the abortion was unsuccessful — she was still pregnant.
The expectant mother considered this a sign from above and decided to deliver the child. Although the abortion attempt caused some disorders in the development of the fetal hands, Kira was born a healthy girl. Despite this incident, she maintains a good relationship with her mother.
The Finley family has a difficult history. The boy's mother, Jodi Percival, is a carrier of a gene that causes kidney malformations in children in the womb. Her first child died for this reason, not having lived even 20 minutes. The second child also had kidney problems, but he survived.
Finley was conceived during the period when Jodie was taking birth control pills. The woman decided that it would be better for her to have an abortion at the eighth week than to survive the death of a newborn child. Nevertheless, a few months after the procedure, Jody's stomach began to grow. Doctors confirmed that the fetus survived the abortion.
Finley was born with a congenital kidney disease, like Jodie's first two children. But his forecasts are not bad — a child who was born, despite contraception and an attempt at an abortion, is ready to fight for life.