Tonight Americans will watch as President Biden recognizes Texas woman Kate Cox at his 2024 State of the Union Address. Cox became a “victim” according to the pro-abortion left last December when the Texas Supreme Court ruled she could not abort her unborn baby diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a condition associated with severe developmental delays. Her lawyers said she ultimately obtained an abortion out of state.
Mothers like Cox are often not informed that children diagnosed with Trisomy 18 and other life-limiting conditions can sometimes thrive into their early twenties. Instead, many women are presented with induced abortion as the first or best course of action in the face of such a prenatal diagnosis.
The very first words these expecting mothers deserve to hear are those of hope, encouragement, and compassion. As a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist, I’ve accompanied many patients through these challenging moments with a focus on holistic options and resources to alleviate their fears and remind them that every life has value, even if outwardly imperfect in society’s eye.
How a doctor engages patients in these challenging situations can either help alleviate their fear or increase it. Research shows, for example, that it’s important when delivering news of a prenatal diagnosis that physicians use a trauma-informed approach that acknowledges many women’s grief over the diagnosis and subdues the fight, flight, or freeze response they often experience in the moment. At the same time, physicians must lovingly convey the liberating truth: that sons or daughters born with health conditions
