Patau syndrome

"It was silent in the room when my son was pulled out of me. He couldn’t cry, open his eyes, or move."

By Melissa Schmitt
Nov 27, 2025

On Dec. 18, 2014, in Fargo, North Dakota, I walked drugged and disoriented through a hospital hallway decorated for Christmas. Music played — maybe from a piano, maybe over the PA system. I couldn’t tell. A few hours earlier, my newborn son had passed away less than 30 minutes after I had given birth. Shortly after that, I suffered a severe postpartum hemorrhage and a near-death experience.

Two liters of blood later, there I was, barely alive and walking through a holiday fog, wishing that I wasn’t.

Continued: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/abortion-ban-pateau-syndrome-pregnancy_n_68ed47b5e4b00067de8227a5

Both Jennifer and Amy were devastated when their wanted pregnancies were deemed unviable, but they were forced to go elsewhere when Catholic-run public hospitals would not terminate

by Donna Lu
Tue 5 Sep 2023

When Jennifer* fell pregnant for the first time in August 2019, there was no indication that anything was amiss. But the Melbourne-based healthcare worker was given bad news at her 12-week ultrasound scan: her foetus had a severe genetic condition.

“They detected a severe abnormality in the baby, which I already knew was a girl, so I’d already gotten a bit excited about having a daughter,” Jennifer recalls. “They said … essentially you could choose to bring the baby to term and give birth to her but if you do, she’ll be placed into palliative care immediately, so we’re recommending that you strongly consider a medical termination.”

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/sep/05/the-women-refused-medical-terminations-abortions-catholic-public-hospitals-australia

USA – I Was Forced To Carry A Baby I Knew Would Die — And It Nearly Killed Me, Too

Australia – These women were told their babies would not survive – but Catholic-run public hospitals refused to provide abortions