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Mum refuses abortion of one of her twin daughters, nine months later, both twins are flourishing

A mum of twins, whose unborn daughter was diagnosed with a disability, refused an abortion and now both little girls are flourishing.

Marie Stockdale from Penrith, Cumbria, was pregnant with twin girls in 2022. Everything seemed to be proceeding as it should and it was only at her 20-week scan that doctors realised something was wrong. They found that one of the girls, Ava, had a lot more fluid surrounding her body than her sister Mila did.

While they drained some of the fluid, it continued to build up and they discovered that Ava had oesophageal atresia and tracheo-oesophageal fistula. These conditions meant that her oesophagus was not properly joined with the rest of her digestive system. This in turn prevented Ava from swallowing the amniotic fluid as she should have. She was also diagnosed with rhombencephalosynapsis, a rare brain condition that can cause cerebral palsy.

Marie said “because the condition is so rare, doctors had no idea how severely it would affect her, and I was offered a termination. It was never an option though, I had to give her a chance to fight.”

Marie’s waters broke the night before her caesarean section was supposed to take place. She had to be put under general anaesthetic and when she woke 6 hours later she said that “Paul [her partner] had been able to spend time with Mila, while Ava had been taken to a special baby unit and, once I’d come round, they took me through to meet her.”

“We had spent the weeks leading up to the birth trying to come to terms with what laid ahead for our daughter after we’d found out about her condition, but nothing could have prepared us for when we saw her tiny body on a ventilator, covered in tubes and wires. It was very tough for us to see her like that.”

Nine months old and getting stronger every day

Doctors determined that Ava should have surgery that same day and, fortunately, it was successful. Ava was not out of the woods yet though. She had to be put on a ventilator and underwent a second surgery to fix her aorta and sternum to help her breathe properly.

Her mum said “Mila and I had been discharged but thanks to the support of The Sick Children’s Trust, we were able to stay with Paul at Crawford House, just next door to where Ava was.”

“It meant we could spend as much time as possible with both our babies and our other children were able to visit.”

When she was 8 weeks old, Ava was well enough to go home. At almost nine months old, Ava still needs help controlling her movement but she’s getting better all the time.

“They’re both little characters, Mila is very chilled out and patient and Ava is really happy and smiley”, her mum said.

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “It’s great that these children are getting along so well and that Marie refused an abortion. It is shocking though that she was offered an abortion in the first instance. Abortion is not a cure for a disability.”

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.

Dear reader,

As you already likely know, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill sadly passed Second Reading at the end of last month.

While it is very disappointing that the Bill passed Second Reading, an analysis published in The Independent shows that at least 36 MPs who supported the Bill did so only to allow further debate or because they had concerns that meant they won’t commit to supporting the Bill at Third Reading. Since then, our Public Affairs team has identified a number of other MPs who share these reservations.

With the vote passing by a margin of 55, just 28 MPs switching their stance to oppose the Bill would ensure it is defeated at Third Reading, so there is a clear path towards this Bill being defeated. We can still win this.

The assisted suicide lobby are fully aware that support for the Bill is very fragile. They will fight fiercely to prevent 28 MPs from switching their votes to oppose the Bill.

For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable lives that will be put at risk, we must win the vote and defeat this dangerous Bill.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign in the run-up to Second Reading was the biggest and most expensive we have ever run and so it has made a significant dent in our limited financial resources.

We are now working on an even bigger campaign to defeat this dangerous Bill at Third Reading.

To ensure we effectively defeat this extreme assisted suicide Bill, we are aiming to raise at least £100,000 by midnight this Sunday (15 December 2024).

Every donation, no matter the size, will mean YOU can make a crucial difference in saving vulnerable lives from this extreme law change.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from this major threat?

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.