Choosing Life
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and you’re listening to Joni and Friends. And one of my friends is Shauna Amick, mother of a child with Down syndrome. And, Shauna, welcome!
SHAUNA: Thank you!
JONI: So glad you’re here, and I’m pretty excited about this brand-new resource that you wrote – a mini–booklet – called My Baby Has a Disability: Life Giving – I love this part – Questions and Answers; we all want answers when it comes to a disability.
SHAUNA: Well, that’s right. And, you know, so often, we get calls here at Joni and Friends – calls from moms and dads – who just received a disability diagnosis for their babies in utero, and I’m thanking God, because they think to come to Joni and Friends to find answers. It’s always humbling to talk to those expecting parents – to pray with them, to calm their fears, to answer questions, to point them to Jesus, and tell them what He has to say about their babies.
JONI: And that, of course, is your story. You knew that your daughter Sarah would have Down syndrome and a near fatal heart defect, but you and your husband, Steve, you guys chose life, not abortion. But you chose life. And I’m so glad you did because little Miss Sarah, I tell ya, she is such a joy to everyone who meets her! I’ve seen the ultrasound image of Sarah in the womb, and you actually open the booklet with a story about that very sonogram, that picture.
SHAUNA: Right. I keep that picture framed. I keep it in my office. It’s the first thing I see every time I walk in. And I do love that because that photo is a powerful memento. It marks the beginning of our lives together – Sarah and me.
JONI: Love that.
SHAUNA: That little black and white image. It’s been faded now; I mean, it’s been 14 years. But it never seems to fail to make me smile. And I gotta tell you, not everyone responds to Sarah’s ultrasound that same way. With a smile.
JONI: Really?
SHAUNA: Yes. Often, when people see that, and then they realize we knew Sarah would have Down syndrome and all those other complications before she was born – when they realize that we had a choice to abort her and we didn’t –
JONI: Your doctor offered you that choice?
SHAUNA: Oh, we were pressured into considering abortion, and we chose life. It wasn’t long ago even when one visitor came into my office for the first time, he picked up that ultrasound, and he said, “You knew she was going to be disabled and still you chose life?” And then he went on, and he said, “Wow, I don’t know if I could’ve made that same decision.”
JONI: Oh, my goodness, that breaks my heart, because, you know, obviously he’s thinking, that kid would’ve been better off dead than disabled. Wow. And I guess it’s a reminder that even those with strong faith can still have doubts, and many with strong faith still don’t take a strong stand for life.
SHAUNA: Oh, it’s true, and it is heartbreaking. People who even will say they’re pro-life that we find out they’re not pro-life in the case of babies with disabilities. And, oh, man, there was that story in Florida – perhaps you remember this one, Joni – where there was a woman pregnant with twins; she found out that one of those twins was going to have Down syndrome; the other was not. So, she went to the abortionist, and she asked for a selective abortion. She wanted to abort the baby with Down syndrome and keep that baby’s twin. (JONI: Wow.) And, well, you know, that abortionist was happy to do the procedure. So, he went ahead and did that abortion. And after, through ultrasound, he was checking to make sure he did it correctly, I guess. And what he found out is that he aborted the wrong baby. He aborted the baby without Down syndrome, and as a result of that, you know, he lost his medical license. You know, people hear that story and they’re outraged that the wrong baby was aborted, but truthfully, we should be equally outraged that any baby is aborted, for all life is equal and worthy of protection. Down syndrome or not, we are all God’s image bearers.
JONI: Well, that’s why I hope friends will read your mini-book. Again, it’s called My Baby Has a Disability: Life Giving Questions and Answers. Check it out today at joniradio.org. And Shauna, thanks for sharing that story.
SHAUNA: Aww, thanks for letting me.
© Joni and Friends
My Baby Has a Disability
Are you facing a devastating diagnosis for your baby? In the new booklet “My Baby Has a Disability: Life-Giving Questions and Answers,” Shauna Amick shares her story of having a child prenatally-diagnosed with Down syndrome. She invites you to dream new dreams of how God wants to display His glory in your child’s life and in yours.
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