A MIRACLE baby who survived repeated abortion attempts is alive and well two years later, it has been revealed.
The boy's mother changed her mind about wanting the child after she felt him move in her womb for the first time.
It happened as she headed home from a clinic that had just given her a series of drugs to end the baby's life.
Doctors at Hope Hospital, Salford, believe the infant - born 24 weeks into the pregnancy - to be the most premature baby to survive abortion in the long-term.
"It has defeated all the odds," said Dr Paul Clarke, until recently a member of the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. "Doctors tried three or four different abortive drugs."
The boy's mother was 24 when she went for an ultrasound and was told she was just over 22 weeks pregnant.
The woman - who was single and had a 19-month-old infant - opted for an abortion because she felt unable to cope with another child. She was admitted to a private clinic five days later and was given four different drugs over two days.
She was told the foetus was dead and to come back in four days to have it removed. But on the train journey home she felt it move and immediately changed her mind.
She went into labour that afternoon and was admitted to hospital, where she asked doctors to do everything they could to save the child. Four days later her baby was born, weighing just 1.5lb, but crying and breathing.
"She had guilt stemming from the fact she knew if she had not gone through with the procedure it would not have been born prematurely," said Dr Clarke, one of four current and former doctors at Hope Hospital who have published a report on the case in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Rights
The baby, born in November 2002, needed ventilation for 53 days and suffered life-threatening blood infections and chronic lung disease. But he was allowed home at seven months and at 10 months had only "mildly" delayed development.
Dr Mike Robinson, co-author of the report and lead clinician at the intensive care unit, said the case raised "serious ethical issues".
"Foetuses don't have rights in law, but once born you have to look at the child in terms of what is in their best interest," he said.
"In this case the mother wanted the child. But when a woman goes to have a termination she should be aware that, while the pregnancy will end, the life of the baby may not."
Abortion is currently legal in Britain up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
There were 181,600 abortions in England and Wales in 2003, the highest on record and up 3.2 per cent on the previous year.
A survey published in 2001 suggested the chance of a child surviving without disability was 12.5 per cent at 23 weeks gestation and 39 per cent at 24 weeks.
Julia Millington, political director of the ProLife Alliance, said: "One can only praise this woman for the courage she showed in having the baby in what was a very difficult situation.
"The public is becoming increasingly aware of what exactly we are permitting when babies are aborted at 22, 23 or 24 weeks when they could survive."
Around two per cent of abortions in England and Wales are performed at or later than 20 weeks. The number born alive is not known.
One study showed around three-quarters of women who booked for abortion after 18 weeks' gestation later changed their mind.
The report's authors claimed private clinics did not have the staff or equipment to resuscitate "aborted" babies and "may be more inclined to overlook signs of life".
Should the abortion laws be changed? Have your say.
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S. Massey, Manchester (14/02/2005 at 08:44)
ONLY IN MEDICAL AND HEALTH CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD A PREGNANCY BE TERMINATED AFTER THOSE AMOUNT OF WEEKS.
HAS ANYONE EVER STOPPED TO THINK OF THE CHILD (THAT IS WHAT IT BECOMES WHEN ABORTED AT 22 WEEKS OR OVER), AS YOUR OWN ARTICLE HAS SHOWN.
IF A WOMAN IS RAPPED THEN SHE SHOULD TAKE ACTION STRAIGHT AWAY SO THERE IS NOW TIME FOR THE FOETUS TO START GROWING, THEN THERE IS NO NEED FOR AN ABORTION THEN TO TAKE PLACE.
MOTHERS WHO REPEATEDLY GO TO HAVE ABORTIONS AS SOME DO, THEN THESE WOMEN SHOULD BE MADE TO TAKE CONTACEPTIVES SO THEY DONT KEEP FALLING PREGNAT.
S. MASSEY
Amy Robinson, Birmingham (14/02/2005 at 09:15)
Sam, Macclesfield (14/02/2005 at 10:00)
Jane Robbins, Longsight, Manchester (14/02/2005 at 10:40)
As a result of her own painful experience, she can now be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. Through her commitment to life, she will become a promoter of a new way of looking at human life.
Hayley, Manchester (14/02/2005 at 11:12)
Josephine Quintavalle, London SW3 2AH (14/02/2005 at 11:41)
Michelle, Clifton (14/02/2005 at 12:15)
Katie, Manchester (14/02/2005 at 12:26)
Joanne Rawls, Rusholme, Manchester (14/02/2005 at 12:37)
Meghan Ivany, Botwood Newfoundland (14/02/2005 at 12:42)
Bob, Crewe (14/02/2005 at 12:57)
Surely stories like this must cause people to stop and think about abortion and look at the laws and the options offered to pregnant women?
Sue, Salford (14/02/2005 at 13:35)
(1) Why on earth didn't the woman take responsibility for herself and use contraception in the first place?
(2) With all the sex education currently being taught in schools, who on earth do we have the highest number of unwanted pregnancies in Europe.
Seems to be that rather than explaining things to children, it's actually making them think "oh yeah, i'll try that", but then they're not prepared to put up with the consequences.
Let's not forget - there's just one reason and one reason only for having sex!
Toby Cosh, Bedford (14/02/2005 at 16:06)
We herald abortion as the mother's 'right to choose'. But what sort of society encourages a mum to do this? How does a 'right to choose' become valued more highly than a human life?
Surely it is time to seriously examine our society's attitude to the value of life. We can no longer keep our heads in the sand, pretending that our value system is not deeply flawed. Women need to be offered a decent, life-valuing alternative when they are unable to manage a child.
jay, st.louis mo (14/02/2005 at 16:16)
Karen, Huby near York (14/02/2005 at 16:44)
In my opinion, women have been sold the biggest lie going that having 'the right to choose' is of the ultimate importance. The truth is that choosing abortion may provide a temporary solution to a crisis pregnancy but longer term it can do untold harm to the mother: sterility, damage to her reproductive organs and, more insidiously, harm to her emotional and mental health. Many women never really get over choosing abortion but few are courageous enough to admit it.
Abortion is the mark of a backward, not a forward-thinking society. The only change to the current abortion law should be its abolition.
H.Payne, London,Croydon. (14/02/2005 at 17:07)
Shocked and Dismayed, Didsbury (14/02/2005 at 18:33)
Many women choose termination not because that they cannot live up to their responsibilities. It is a painful decision for many in all circumstances, whether it be a mistake or contraceptive failure. Also, what about the women who have no family support, those who have been subjected to rape, those who are undertaking a path of education or career development for the good of the nation and the economy?
Also, it must be pointed out that a fetus is a fetus (correct medical spelling) until the body is born at or after 24 weeks of gestation, upon when it becomes a baby. In British Law it is the mother who holds legal rights, due to her mental capacity to make an informed choice for both her and the fetus. If the law became parrallel of that in the US it would be a detrimental step for all the women who have the priveledge of having a choice in their care throughout pregnancy. In reality only about 25% of fetuses born at 24 weeks gestation survive regardless of the preceeding events - would there be an outrage if this baby had not survived?
Please get a wider perspective than that of the end of your nose.
Brenda Barber, Norfolk (14/02/2005 at 19:08)
Luckily this woman felt her baby move which was her proof. I think women considering abortion should be shown an ultrasound picture of their baby before making their decision. Its easy to blind yourself to the truth when you are desperate, These women should ne supported to have their babies not encouraged to kill them.
Angela Ireland, Stockport (14/02/2005 at 19:22)
I also noted that the abortion figures had risen. Did more sex education and condoms not work then?
Stuart Cunliffe, Worsley, Manchester (14/02/2005 at 20:09)
John Scotson (Dr), Altrincham (14/02/2005 at 20:15)
We can thank God this child has escaped with its lif: its life is a testimony to its humanity and to the humanity of all other unborn children.
Linda Kennedy, Ontario, Canada (14/02/2005 at 20:40)
Geoffrey Smith, Droylsden, Manchester (14/02/2005 at 23:49)
changed? Of course they should! And the quicker the
better.
This pernicious Abortion Act of 1967 has resulted in the birth
rate plummeting to less than
1.8 per female in this country.
This translates into a slump in
the population, with too many
old people being cared for by
too few young ones.
Britain is a dying nation, and
we have Lord David Steel to
thank for the crumbling pension system and the threat
of cancellation of the entire
state pension benefits.
Before it is too late, the whole
of this crackpot legislation must
be scrapped, not merely changed or tinkered with in an
attempt to make it economically viable.
With a return to sanity, horrific
events such as the one you have reported would become
rare indeed.
Valerie, New York (15/02/2005 at 02:28)
Michelle, Manchester (15/02/2005 at 04:26)