Women are curious about whether or not abortion was encouraged when we learned of Allegra's fatal condition. I don't recall the word "abortion" ever being used. Instead, words like "terminate" or "end the pregnancy" were cautiously spoken and a potential time frame was outlined to meet the legal time limit of 21 weeks gestation.
When discussed, it was one of two options. As my earthy midwife explained, "You can terminate the pregnancy OR you can choose to treat each day of this pregnancy as a gift." Neither the midwife, the specialists, the sonographer, nor the genetic counselor worked to convince us of a superior choice. None expressed what they would do if placed in a similar situation. They just presented the options and looked at us, waiting for our answer....
Obviously, but not entirely easily, we chose not to terminate. Our decision was accepted and the hospital immediately assigned us a social worker to assist with our planning of this pregnancy and delivery. The resulting coordination of care we've received has been impressive.
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