Tuesday, February 20, 2007

This morning I read in the NEW YORK POST about a four month baby girl who left the hospital. This doesn't seem unusual unless you know the whole story.

This baby, Amillia Taylor weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born on October 14, 21 weeks and six days after in-vitro conception. She was only 9 1/2 inches long and was perfectly formed. I saw pictures of her feet, each was about long as two joints of her doctor's finger. The doctor said she even tried to cry.

This story reminded me of another baby. Forty-odd years ago, friends of ours had a baby boy early in March. This baby was due in June. He weighed 1 lb. 11 oz. and was rushed to Long Island Jewish Hospital, one of the few hospitals equipped to care for preemies at that time. Fortunately, he survived and at the time was the smallest baby boy in New York who survived. The only problem he had was a weakness in his eyes, probably a result of the oxygen given in the incubator. Medical science has come a long way.

When you see a baby who is born less than 22 weeks after conception and who survives, you wonder why some states allow abortions in the second trimester. Actually, I always wonder why any state would allow abortion period.

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