A couple have been able to take their premature baby home after he was born measuring about the size of his father’s hand.
Jorge Joachin and Vatsanah Vongpana were taken by surprise when baby Malakai was born at just 22 weeks and one day. He weighed less than one pound and had to be taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where he was cared for by medical staff.
“It’s been a rollercoaster”, Jorge said. “That’s for sure”.
“I never thought I would be here, being able to hold him, and like, bring him home”, Vatsanah said. “It was a different experience than I really thought I was gonna have”.
Malakai was in hospital for 144 days
When his parents were finally able to take him home, staff members of the hospital lined the corridor to give Malakai his send-off.
“They’re not human”, Joachin said of the medical staff. “They’re like superheroes”.
The hospital informed Fox6 News Milwaukee that Malakai is one of the youngest and smallest babies to survive there. He now weighs seven pounds seven ounces.
When asked what he sees when he looks at Malakai, his father said “I see a miracle. A baby miracle”.
Medical advances have left a contradiction at the heart of our abortion law
Babies like Malakai born at 22 weeks are younger than the gestation when babies can be aborted in the UK. There is a clear contradiction at the heart of our abortion law and current medical practice.
On the one hand, the law permits ending the lives of babies at 22 and 23 weeks, and, on the other hand, current medical practice strives to save the lives of many babies born prematurely at 22 or 23 weeks gestation.
The annual abortion statistics for England and Wales in 2021 reveal that 755 “ground C” abortions were performed when the baby was at 22 or 23 weeks gestation (ground C is the statutory ground under which the vast majority of abortions are permitted and there is currently a 24-week time limit for abortions performed under this statutory ground).
At the same time, according to a recent study, there were a total of 261 babies born alive at 22 and 23 weeks, before the abortion limit, who survived to discharge from hospital in 2020 and 2021.
This means in the same hospital, on the same day, two babies at the same gestational age (22 or 23 weeks gestation) could have very different fates – one could have his or her life deliberately ended by abortion, and the other could be born prematurely and have a dedicated medical team provide the best care they can to try to save his or her life.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “These amazing stories of premature babies like Malakai surviving from just 22 weeks are so important for demonstrating the humanity and resilience of life in and out of the womb. Our abortion law has remained out of date for far too long and it is about time that the time limit for abortion was reduced to reflect the medical advances of the last few years”.
