Giving the baby a chance

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, June 6th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: the challenge of pregnancy complications.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled unanimously last week to uphold its strong protections for unborn babies. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit a group of Texas women and doctors filed against the state last year.

They argued the limited medical exceptions in the abortion law puts moms at risk. They say doctors think they have to wait until a pregnant woman facing complications is on death’s door before inducing labor or performing an abortion. But the court ruled that the law clearly doesn’t require that the risk to the mother’s life be imminent in order for a doctor to act.

BROWN: One mother in Texas wrote to WORLD to tell us about her own experience with a complicated pregnancy last year, the options her doctors gave her under the law, and why she picked the harder one.

WORLD’s Leah Savas has the story.

LEAH SAVAS: Sarah and James Hayes were already the parents of three little girls in March 2023 when they decided to try for a fourth baby. They quickly conceived a boy.

SARAH HAYES: When we just got pregnant so quickly, we thought okay, this sounds like God's on board for what's happening.

But then Sarah’s water broke at 16 weeks.

HAYES: I wasn't expecting it. So I thought well, maybe it's something else. And I kind of hoped it was something else.

An ultrasound confirmed her amniotic sac was nearly empty. Sarah could tell right away. Instead of the normal black surrounding the baby, it was mostly gray.

As soon as the sonographer left, Sarah broke down in tears. Then the specialist came in.

HAYES: She walked in the room and her face changed immediately. And she just was like, she told me, she was like, you already know, don't you? And I was like, yeah.

The baby had a 14 percent chance of survival. Sarah had two options. The first one, inducing labor, would kill the baby but protect Sarah from possible infections. Unlike some Texas doctors, her providers knew that was still legal under the state’s abortion laws.

The other option was to see how far the baby could get. He had no guarantee of surviving, and Sarah could face any number of complications. The type of C-section it would take to deliver him would make it unsafe for her to get pregnant again.

HAYES: To me, it didn't matter what the outcomes were, if he were still alive and growing, it was my duty to do everything I could to keep this little baby alive, you know?

For about seven weeks, Sarah spent a lot of time on the couch—reading to her girls and cross-stitching. As instructed, she monitored her temperature and kept an eye out for other signs of an infection.

But nothing happened. Around 23 weeks, she checked into the hospital. She and her baby had already made it longer than anyone expected.

HAYES: I just was excited to be doing something where finally I felt like Jack had a chance.

That’s the baby’s name. Jack. After her grandad.

The plan was to continue about ten more weeks and then induce labor. But, about ten days later, Sarah went into labor naturally. The medical staff delivered Jack via C-section at 10:43 p.m. on September 8, 2023. Her prayer had been that she’d hear him crying as soon as he arrived. That would mean he could breathe.

HAYES: So if he cried, you know, I felt like all was well. So they pulled him out. They said, he's opening his eyes and then nothing. He didn't cry.

The medical staff whisked him away to the NICU. Sarah was in a fog of exhaustion and pain meds. Word came that Jack’s organs were failing. She and her husband James went to see him.

HAYES: So yeah, I held him and he was really warm. And I just examined him. I looked at his nose and touched his ears and checked all of his fingers and toes and I talked to him. And while I was holding him, they said his numbers like his oxygen levels bumped up.

Sarah and James sat there with their son. Until he passed away.

Many women in Sarah’s same situation make a different choice. Fearing the loss of their future fertility or their lives, they choose to abort or induce labor as soon as possible. It means less uncertainty. Fewer dashed hopes.

Sarah sees how that option might have been more tempting if she didn’t already have other children or if she didn’t have confidence in her medical team. But the choice she made had its benefits.

HAYES: I'm just so happy I met him. I know what he looks like, I have pictures. You know, I held him. He got to meet me. He got to meet his dad. What a mental freedom I have for the rest of my life, knowing that I did everything I could and cherishing these little memories of an hour with my son. I got an hour, you know?

But Sarah still wrestled with another question. Why had this happened? They really thought Jack was going to make it. Was God punishing them?

She learned to recognize how God had not abandoned them in Jack’s death. Instead, he met her in her grief. Because God sacrificed his own Son for her, she has the hope of seeing her son again in heaven.

HAYES: Yes, I can be sad because I don't get to be with Jack for the next 50 years or however long I live, you know, but then after that, I have eternity. What a gift.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leah Savas.

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