Doctors Told Couple Their Son Was Terminal and to Have Abortion. After His Birth They Were Proven Wrong

"For me, it was very difficult. … I had always been pro-life. Abortion was never in my mind as an option." 

By Micaiah Bilger
Life News

In an instant, an Iowa couple’s worst fears changed into overwhelming joy when a doctor announced that their newborn son had been misdiagnosed with a fatal brain condition.

Baby Matthew Corpstein is doing better than expected more than a month after his parents, Drew and Ariann, thought they would lose him, Christian News Network reports.

Doctors initially predicted that the infant would die soon after birth of a fatal brain condition called semilobar holoprosencephaly. But a day after Matthew was born, doctors realized that the baby boy had been misdiagnosed.

Now, the Iowa infant is expected to live a long, full life.

Ariann Corpstein was about 13 weeks into her pregnancy when tests revealed that something might be wrong with baby Matthew, she told Fox News. By 20 weeks, more tests indicated that he likely was missing most of his brain.

The Corpsteins were told that their son probably would die within a few days of his birth, and doctors encouraged them to consider having a late-term abortion.

Here’s more from the report: They were recommended two options, both of which meant ending their baby’s life: obtain an abortion, or induce premature labor now in the hospital.

However, Ariann knew that she couldn’t take the matter into her own hands. She and her husband determined to trust God, no matter the outcome.

“I’m so glad that she was so strong in her foundation,” Drew told Fox & Friends on Thursday. “For me, it was very difficult. … I had always been pro-life. Abortion was never in my mind as an option. [But] when you’re told that your baby’s brain isn’t developing and they will be a vegetable on machines, maybe not hear, see, smell, you question [what to do].”

“Ariann never wavered,” he said, his voice breaking as he fought tears, expressing gratitude.

On July 29, Ariann gave birth and named her son Matthew, which means “gift from God.” The next day, they decided to have another MRI to check his condition. The doctor who delivered the results gave the Corpsteins a huge surprise.

“He says, ‘Your baby does not have hydranencephaly,’” Drew said. “And then, he says, ‘Your son has hydrocephalus.”

“We simply couldn’t believe what we were hearing!” the couple wrote on their GoFundMe page. “We had prepared for the last 4 to 5 months of not bringing a baby home, of using hospice and end of life care, and now suddenly Matthew’s chances of survival are high and having a fully functioning life could be possible! … We know God was protecting us and our beautiful baby boy, and we had put our faith in His hands, come whatever may.”

Hydrocephalus, while serious, is not typically fatal. Matthew recently had a shunt placed in his brain to drain fluid caused by the disorder, according to the report. The condition can lead to developmental delays, but not all children develop them, the family said. Read Megan's Story: Doctor Gave Her A Death Sentence.

No matter what happens, the family said they are trusting God with Matthew’s life.

“A good friend called him Matthew The Great for being such a miracle, and that’s exactly what he is,” the couple said. “He is our little miracle. A boy who wasn’t supposed to be born alive, much less do anything else, has showed us that God is protecting us and blessing us beyond anything we can imagine.”

Website:Life News 

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  

Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

Doctor Said to Abort Teddy Because His Organs Would Be Outside His Body, But Look at Him Now

Unborn children with disabilities often are singled out for abortions across the world.

By Micaiah Bilger
LifeNews

When an unborn baby exhibits signs of less than perfect health, many families report that their doctors are quick to suggest an abortion.

One Australia family experienced the situation last year after their unborn son was diagnosed with a rare but correctable condition. The Daily Mail reports Holly and Stephen Hodgson learned that their unborn son’s intestines were growing outside of his body during their 12-week ultrasound appointment.

“The radiologist said it would be fine but then when I went to see my doctor he told me that I should terminate because he had only seen three other cases who all terminated,” Holly told Kidspot.

The Brisbane mom said she went home and began researching her son’s condition, gastroschisis. This was her first child, and she wanted to research the doctor’s advice. It was only after doing her own research that she learned that between 90 percent and 95 percent of babies with the condition survive the pregnancy, she said.

Here’s more from Kidspot:

“It makes me sick and angry when I look back on what he said.”

Holly has decided to tell her story in case other parents find themselves in the same situation and don’t realise that many little ones can go onto live normal lives after they are born with gastroschisis.

“I was still upset with that he said even though I wasn’t prepared to terminate because I hadn’t read anything about babies being terminated so I didn’t think it was possible. It was a silly thing to have said.”

When Holly got a second opinion it was confirmed that she had made the right decision in keeping her child – there was no mention of terminating, just very close monitoring.

Teddy was born in December with both his small and large intestines outside of his body. Doctors performed surgery and placed the organs back inside his stomach; and eight weeks after his birth, his parents took him home, according to the report.

Teddy turned 7-months-old in August, and he is doing well, his mother said.

“He’s such a happy boy,” Hodgson said. “He always smiles, giggles and squeaks at people he doesn’t even know – it’s very cute.”

Life News story continues here 

Wisconsin Man Who Spiked Girlfriend’s Drink with RU-486 is Convicted of Attempted First-Degree Intentional Homicide of an Unborn Child

Manishkumar M. Patel

Photo:Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Network-Wisconsin

By Dave Andrusko
National Right to Life

The case of Manishkumar M. Patel, who attempted to slip his unsuspecting girlfriend an abortifacient, has finally come to a conclusion, almost 11 years later.

On Wednesday Patel was convicted of attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child. 

“The attempted homicide charge carries a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison,” according to Alison Dirr. “Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 9.”

Patel’s girlfriend did not ingest the drink but miscarried weeks later.

This was one of the very early cases of a boyfriend slipping his pregnant girlfriend an abortifacient. As we reported previously, Darshana Patel was suspicious and did not drink the smoothie that was laced with RU-486.

This took place in November 2007. A bench warrant was issued the following January for Patel (who was not related to the woman) on multiple charges, including attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child. He jumped a $750,000 cash bond, which he forfeited.

Patel’s list of criminal charges had included “second-degree recklessly endangering safety, placing foreign objects in edibles, possession with intent to deliver prescriptions, stalking, burglary, possession of burglary tools, and two counts of violating a harassment restraining order,” according to Dirr of USA Today

According to a 2008 Associated News story, the couple had a long-standing relationship, which resulted in a son in 2004. A subsequent pregnancy ended in a miscarriage in 2006 (Manish Patel denied that child was his.)

In August 2007 Darshana Patel said she became pregnant again. But this time (citing a criminal complaint) Dirr reported, “she noticed how attentive Manish became. He even prepared meals for her on occasion.”

Darshana noticed Manish stirring a smoothie at an ice cream store and grew suspicious, Dirr reported. 

“When he offered it to her, she noticed powder on the cup’s rim, and the pregnant woman feigned illness and didn’t drink it.”

According to the criminal complaint: A short time later, her doctor detected problems in her hormone levels, and she contacted the lab to test the substance in the cup. While waiting for a kit to test the substance, she miscarried. The lab test later confirmed the presence of the abortion pill.

National Right to Life continues here

“You Are Your Baby’s First Home …. Your Baby’s First Protector”

By Dave Andrusko
National Right to Life

Imagine how different the fate of millions of unborn babies would be if moms and dads looked upon them not as a kind of disposable property but as someone whose fate is entirely in their hands and whom they should do everything humanly possible to protect.

In other words, to see and then act not as landlords eager to evict but as parents dedicated to protect.

Enter an ad for First Response Pregnancy Test.

It’s only 30 seconds long. The first two statements are the most relevant, although all the sentiments are very beautiful and very touching.

The ad begins with the husband lovingly kissing his wife’s swollen abdomen. Then the words

You are your baby’s first home…. Your baby’s first protector.

I have written about fetolology and the incredible bond between mother and unborn baby a million times. But I’ve never put it in more telling, more tender terms than “You are your baby’s first home.”

That was the warm and fuzzy part (for me).

“Your baby’s first protector.” That was more sobering.

National Right to Life continues here

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

NBC Comedy: Unborn Child a ‘Parasite,’ Like ‘a Bag of Garbage’

By Dawn Slusher
National Right to Life

Editor’s note. This is excerpted from a post that appeared at Newsbusters and is reposted with permission. All boldfaces are in the original post.

NBC’s comedy Superstore joined the ranks of other Hollywood shows that devalue unborn human life, likening a preborn baby to a “horrible parasite eating and pi__ing inside” of the surrogate mother and comparing him/her to a “bag of garbage” who should “figure out its own gender.”

Thursday night’s episode “Gender Reveal,” had surrogate mother Dina (Lauren Ash), an employee of “Cloud 9” superstore who is carrying a baby for her boss Glenn (Mark McKinney) and his wife Jerusha (Kerri Kenney), become frightened after seeing the unborn child she’s carrying for the first time on a 4D sonogram.

It’s all becoming too real for Dina and she is sent into a panic when customers all share horrific birth stories and she watches a documentary on farm animal births. She walks up to Glenn and tells him she needs to talk to him.

When he asks if something is wrong, she says, “No, no, no. They just sent us the wrong receipt paper again, and I also decided I no longer want to carry your baby, so we’ll just go over all that.” 

Which leads to the conversation where she compares the baby to a bag of garbage. Dina has this idea that she can somehow transfer the baby from her womb to someone else’s, like “moving a bag of garbage from the kitchen to the side of the house.”

Thankfully, there was no mention of abortion as a “solution,” but the devaluing of unborn human life got worse as fellow employees Amy (America Ferrera) and Cheyenne (Nichole Bloom) try to comfort Dina and ease her concerns about giving birth:

Dina: I did not think this through. And now, I have a horrible parasite just eating and pi _ing inside me.

Cheyenne: My friend Corona swallowed a tape worm to lose weight, and it ate one of her organs. She looked really good at prom, though.

Amy: Look, Dina, it’s just for a few more months.

Dina: Yeah, and then I get to endure the most gruesome pain imaginable. …

Amy: You know, it really didn’t hurt that much. I remember thinking, like, big whoop. Way to over-hype it, women.

Cheyenne: Really? ‘Cause for me, it was like…It was–it was like nothing.

Amy: Yeah, it was like bad cramps. …

Amy does fortunately share that when she took a pregnancy test recently that turned out to be negative, she, “kind of realized I kind of wanted to be pregnant again…Because I remembered how amazing it felt,” Amy says.

National Right to Life article continues here

Blind Mom “Sees” Her Unborn Baby

By Dave Andrusko
National Right to Life

Okay, pretend you didn’t read the headline. It’s more fun that way.

Tatiana Guerra, 30, is from Brazil, and was 20 weeks pregnant when this video was taken. When she was 17, she’d lost her sight.

Courtesy of Huggies Brazil and the digital design firm, The Goodfellas, what you see on YouTube is the unfolding of a minor miracle– at least to we who are sighted and especially to those of us who grapple with understanding 3D printing.

The YouTube is less than 4 minutes long. We are immediately introduced to Tatiana and “Dr. David.” He seems to have a gentle touch and a reassuring voice, the perfect bedside manner.

After the opening “hellos,” the video cuts to Tatiana at home. She caresses her swollen abdomen and talks quietly and persistently to Murilo.

Clearly, Tatiana is passionately in love with her unborn son. “Mommy can’t wait to feel your little body, your little face, your little hands ….So come,” she says. “Mommy is counting the days. …You don’t need to be afraid.”

The video cuts back to Dr. David as he is performing the ultrasound. They chat back and forth.

“What does his face look like?”

“His nose looks like yours,” Dr. David says. “His two little eyes are closed.”

Tatiana smiles and giggles when she is told her son has a “small mouth” and a “chubby hand.”

All the while a 3D printer is transforming ultrasound images of Murilo’s face into something solid.

“And if…if you could touch him, would that let you know what he’s like?”
“Yes,” she responds.

At that juncture Dr. David hands Tatiana the 3-D sculpture of her unborn son’s face wrapped in a white cloth.

“That is your son.”

“What do you mean!?”

“That’s an image of your son. See if he feels the way you think he does.”

And then, the tear-jerking moment. She read a message, written in Braille…

“I am your son.”

National Right to Life continues here 

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does? 

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.

In Southeast Penna:  Call the Community Women's Center at  215-826-8090

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

Famous Hollywood Couple to Their Unborn Baby:“How is It Possible to Love Someone So Much Already?”

By Katie Yoder
Life News

As the majority of Hollywood races to defend America’s largest abortion provider, one big name couple is standing out by celebrating their unborn baby.

On Thursday, Hollywood couple Ian Somerhalder (Vampire Diaries) and Nikki Reed (Twilight) announced they are expecting their first baby together. Both actors posted matching pictures – of Somerhalder tenderly kissing Reed’s baby bump – on Instagram along with heartfelt messages.

In her caption, the 28-year-old expectant mother posted a pro-life message from the couple to their “little one”:

Hi Little One I know you, but only because I feel you. How is it possible to love someone so much already? All I know for sure is it’s the strongest feeling I’ve ever felt. We’ve been sharing this body for quite some time, and we’ve already experienced so much together. We can’t wait to meet you… Love Your parents

In a world where “women’s rights” activists argue that an unborn baby is part of the woman’s body, Reed’s comment about “sharing this body” appeared revolutionary.

For his part, Somerhalder, 38, explained why the two hadn’t announced the pregnancy sooner. The couple waited, the dad said, because they wanted the “three of us,” including “our little one,” to “enjoy this time with each other”:

Life News story continues

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link.  Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest.  Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call or text 610-626-4006  

If you or someone you know is suffering after abortion, confidential non-judgmental help is available.  Call Project Rachel's national toll-free number 888-456-HOPE (4673) or visit hopeafterabortion.org.  

"Quinn Was No Less Sacred Before Birth As After Birth"

By Maria Gallagher, PA Pro-Life Federation
National Right to Life

Recently, a friend of mine, ever-sunny Robin, was all set to serve as a volunteer on a women’s retreat weekend. Then she learned that her beloved grandchild in utero, Quinn, had to be delivered by C-section the next morning.

She left the retreat, bound for her daughter-in-law’s side. And she left behind a group of faithful women who were praying fervently that Quinn would journey safely into the world. The retreat was jam-packed with talks and activities, but when we had a few moments to pause, we, the team members, prayed again for the young lady’s blessed arrival.

A few hours later, a team member glanced at her phone and quietly informed those around her “We have a baby.” We logged onto Facebook and there, in all her five-pound glory, was the girl we had been praying for—stunningly beautiful, preciously pink, uniquely lovely, and unashamedly and completely loved by the grandmother who held Quinn in her arms.

While I was filled with joy and wonder at seeing Quinn’s breathtaking face, I couldn’t help but think of some politicians—most notably Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders during the last presidential campaign—and what they’d said at a Fox News Town Hall in Detroit: they support abortion even at the latest stages of pregnancy.

While Quinn’s remarkable family members were greeting her with open, loving hearts, two candidates for President were callously defending the brutal practice of late-term abortion. It’s entirely possible that these same politicians would ooh and ahh if they saw Quinn’s photo on Facebook. And yet, they remain committed to a political agenda which allows abortion up to the moment of birth.

Quinn’s life is no accident—and neither is the life of any unborn child. There is purpose and reason for her life. And perhaps her worth is all the more apparent, given the struggle her mother faced in giving birth to her.

Quinn was no less sacred before birth as after birth. Sure, we can see her sunlit face now, when before, with the ultrasound, she would demurely turn her face away.

National Right to Life article continues 

Voices for Life is an e-publication dedicated to informing and educating the public on pro-life and pro-family issues. To read our Mission Statement, use this link. Follow us on Facebook, Google, and Pinterest. Help us spread the pro-life message by sharing our articles on your favorite social networks.

Pregnant, need help or know someone who does?  

National Hotline: Call 1-800-712-HELP or Text 'HELPLINE' to 313131.
In Southeast Penna:  Call or text 610-626-4006  

 If you are experiencing pain or loss because of an abortion, please know there are many organizations where you can find help. Call 1-800-5WE-CARE.