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Premature baby, born at 22 weeks, goes home from hospital after 257 days

A premature baby boy, born at only 22 weeks gestation, has finally gone home from the hospital after a gruelling 257 days. 

John Delancey III, known as JJ to his family, weighed just over a pound when he was born, approximately the weight of a can of soup.

He was born extremely prematurely, at only 22 weeks gestation, as his mother did not have any amniotic fluid. Immediately after his birth, JJ was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and kept in an incubator. 

Incubators are temperature-controlled, and the babies are wrapped in a sterile plastic bag that mimics the warmth and security that the babies would experience in the womb.

JJ’s sister, Stephanie Daniels, said, “He was very fragile”. 

“The first two weeks, the doctors were not sure whether he was going to make it”, she added.

Finally, after 257 days in the NICU, a record for the hospital, baby JJ has finally been able to go home with his family at a very healthy 17lbs. JJ still requires a feeding tube and supplemental oxygen, but improvements will come with time.

Dr Kiran Dwarakanath, the unit’s medical director, said, “It takes extraordinary teamwork to care for a baby born this early, and John reminded us every day why this work matters”.

“Micropremies face incredible challenges from the moment they arrive, yet John showed us time and again what a fighter he is”, Dr Dwarakanath added.

“Our team poured their hearts into helping him grow stronger and it has been a privilege to watch him reach this milestone”. 

JJ’s sister, Stephanie, said seeing her brother finally able to leave the NICU was “so rewarding”. 

On the day JJ graduated from hospital, he wore his gown and cap, a tradition for babies who spend long periods in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“It was pure excitement, pure joy”, Daniels said of bringing her brother home. “We finally made it”.

Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Stories like JJ’s remind us of the strength and resilience of even the tiniest babies. His life is a powerful witness to the humanity and value of children born at the very edge of viability”.

EMERGENCY
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Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland was defeated in March by 69 votes to 57.

Then, in April, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill fell in the House of Lords.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, governments in England, Scotland and Wales would now be preparing to roll out assisted suicide services.

Over the coming decades, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people.

But that is not what happened.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

These were two very significant victories. But sadly, they are not the last battles we face this year.

The new Parliamentary session began on Wednesday. We now face three major threats.

  1. Attempts to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill and bypass the House of Lords

    The assisted suicide lobby, led by Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made it clear that it is going to attempt to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the next parliamentary session.

    It then plans to use the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords and force the Bill into law.

  2. Labour Government plans for a major expansion of abortion provision, including financial incentives for ‘lunch-hour’ abortions

    Under these plans, the Government would financially incentivise major abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices, to provide ‘lunch-hour’ or ‘same-day’ abortions.

    ‘Lunch-hour’ abortion services are walk-in abortion services designed to fit into a woman’s lunch hour.

    Women facing an unplanned pregnancy need time, care and support, not a system that gives abortion clinics a financial incentive to rush them through consultations, scans and abortions on the same day.

    If these plans go ahead, many more lives are likely to be ended by abortion here in the UK.

  3. Extreme abortion up to birth proposals in Scotland

    In Scotland, plans are moving forward to introduce an extreme abortion up to birth law. This would go far beyond the abortion law change recently backed by the Lords for England and Wales.

    A review of abortion law in Scotland, commissioned by Humza Yousaf when he was Scottish First Minister, recommended that the Scottish Government scrap the current 24-week time limit – and abortion be available on social grounds, including for sex-selective purposes, right up to birth.

    The final plans are expected to be brought forward as a Government Bill in the new Scottish Parliament, which began on Thursday.

If these three major threats succeed, thousands of vulnerable lives will be lost.

We cannot allow this to happen.

We can only defeat these three major threats with your help.

We ran our biggest campaigns ever to help defeat the assisted suicide Bills at Westminster and in Scotland.

That work has made a serious dent in our limited resources.

To cover this gap and ensure we can effectively defeat these three major threats in the coming months, we are aiming to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (17 May 2026).

We are, therefore, appealing to you to please give as generously as you can.

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in saving the lives of the unborn and many others. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

By stopping these threats, YOU can save lives during this new Parliamentary session.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these three major threats?

EMERGENCY
APPEAL
to SAVE
lives

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.