A Florida woman sent a letter to the doctor who suggested she consider having an abortion because she was pregnant with a Down Syndrome child — who is now 15 months old.
Courtney Baker posted a photo of her daughter Emersyn Faith on her
Facebook page last weekend. Emersyn is holding the letter in the image, which calls out the prenatal specialist who Baker said was "so unbelievably wrong" to suggest on several occasions the pregnancy should be terminated.
ParkerMyles.com, a website about Down Syndrome awareness, reported on the story this week.
"I came to you during the most difficult time in my life. I was terrified, anxious and in complete despair. I didn't know the truth yet about my baby, and that's what I desperately needed from you," Baker wrote in the letter. "But instead of support and encouragement, you suggested we terminate our child. I told you her name, and you asked us again if we understood how low our quality of life would be with a child with Down syndrome. You suggested we reconsider our decision to continue the pregnancy.
"From that first visit, we dreaded our appointments. The most difficult time in my life was made nearly unbearable because you never told me the truth. My child was perfect.
"I'm sad you were so very wrong to say a baby with Down syndrome would decrease our quality of life. And I'm heartbroken you might have said that to a mommy even today. But I'm mostly sad you'll never have the privilege of knowing my daughter, Emersyn."
In a
New York Daily News follow-up, Baker said, "What I would love is for a mother who is in the process of making that decision whether to keep the baby ... to realize that life doesn't end with a [Down syndrome] diagnosis — it's just getting started."
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