BIG News!! Parents Can Register Names For Miscarried Babies in France!
I got this news article forwarded in the email today! What an encouragement this is to those of us who have suffered miscarriages and know how devastating it can be. This needs to happen in America!
Please let me know your thoughts below..
From LifeNews.com (copied in full):
Please let me know your thoughts below..
From LifeNews.com (copied in full):
French Court: Parents Can
Register Names for Miscarried Fetuses
France's supreme court has ruled that parents of miscarried or stillborn children can register a name for the child, no matter what stage of development the child was at the time of miscarriage or birth, reports the AFP.
France's supreme court has ruled that parents of miscarried or stillborn children can register a name for the child, no matter what stage of development the child was at the time of miscarriage or birth, reports the AFP.
Previous to this most recent ruling,
parents in France were allowed to register a name for miscarried or stillborn
children, but only after 22 weeks gestation, or if the child weighed over 1.1
pounds.
This new ruling gives parents the
right to claim the body of their child, which, until this point, was incinerated
by the hospital along with other waste tissues. It also allows the mothers of
miscarried or stillborn children to claim maternity leave.
"The ruling is triggering a storm
over the issue of abortion in France, with pro-abortion activists arguing that
the ruling gives pro-life activists a strongly emotional argument for the
humanity of the child, by indicating that a fetus at any stage has a right to a
name."
According to the AFP report, the
ruling is triggering a storm over the issue of abortion in France, with
pro-abortion activists arguing that the ruling gives pro-life activists a
strongly emotional argument for the humanity of the child, by indicating that a
fetus at any stage has a right to a name. "A fetus is only viable after 26
weeks," said Chantal Birman, deputy president of a pro-abortion group called
ANCIC. "You have to take the timetable of pregnancy into account."
She said that the court decision,
"will help a rollback [on abortion availability] that has been taking place in
Europe for the last few months."
However, there is an increasing
recognition in medical circles that miscarriage or stillbirth can be an
extremely traumatic experience for mothers and fathers alike, who may have
developed a profound emotional connection with their unborn child. "The mourning
process can be long and lonely," says the Helping After Neonatal Death (HAND)
website. "After the death of a baby, it generally takes twelve to twenty-four
months simply to find your new base."
Many parents have found that the
process of grieving is helped significantly by the giving of a name to their
child. "Giving the baby a name and having the baby baptized or blessed, if such
rituals are important to us, are ways for us to acknowledge the reality of the
life that has come and gone so quickly," says HAND.
[8Feb08, LifeSiteNews.com, John Jalsevac, Paris, France]
[8Feb08, LifeSiteNews.com, John Jalsevac, Paris, France]
Bethany,
That is great news!
However, a comment in that article really makes me mad. It said, "a fetus is only viable after 26 weeks." What do they call MY son then? He was born at 24 weeks and 1 day, and is now 8 years old?!?!?! I can definitely say HE was viable!
I think somebody needs to write to that place.
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Autumn, yes, sadly the pro-abortionists do believe that unborn children are not viable until 26 weeks. No matter what you tell them, they will remain very adamant about that. Virtually all of them hate to acknowledge the humanity of the unborn at an earlier stage. It is terribly sad.
Actually, recently it was found that the survival for 22-25 week old unborn children has increased more than two fold when the children are given more of a chance. You can read more about this here:
http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/2008/02/
I, along with most pro-lifers, believe wholeheartedly that life begins at conception, and that your baby was a baby from the moment he was conceived.
Your son is so lucky to have you as a mom, Autumn!
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Ditto both these comments. It's remarkable how babies become "human" at an earlier gestational age as technology progresses to help micro-preemies survive. I was actually going to comment along the same lines. So a baby is a baby at 26 weeks technically for now, or 24 weeks in Autumn's case, but next year or in 5 years if the "age of viability" is reduced to 23 weeks, then science will deem *that* age a "baby"? And 20 years ago science probably said that the age of viability was more like 34 weeks to be considered a "baby"? There is no logic in that.
The most important point I gleaned from this article is that this gives the right to the mother to have her baby's body to do with as she feels fit.
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How do these people acutally think they are pro-woman when they take every female emotion away from us just so people can have a legal right to terminate a life? It's amazing how they think that we are not suppose to mourn a wanted child just because the child died before THEY feel the baby was viable.
Feminisism = denying females their fundamental right to be women.
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I agree wholeheartedly!
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Bethany, Thank you for posting this article. Its so very encouraging. We've had two miscarriages and my heart still longs to know those little ones. I would love to see this ruling embraced in the US.
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We miscarried last year at about 10 weeks, and it was hard because we already loved that baby and had been praying for that baby, but so many people could not figure out why we were so upset! It was so strange to them.
So this court ruling seems much more in line with what families who miscarry a child actually feel. I think it is an excellent court ruling!
(We are expecting again, and are 9 weeks along, so we are once again praying like crazy, and once again, this little baby is already so real to us and part of our family.)
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That is just beautiful, for a country to acknowledge that parents need the baby to have a name, and to let them give the baby a proper burial. Thank you for sharing that!
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Wow! Wouldn't that be great here in America! I am rejoicing for the French parents who now have a voice for their unborn children. I still grieve even though it has been almost 10 months since the miscarriage. I would have loved the body back even though how tiny, would have loved the acknowledgement that the baby was real, and would have loved to have the child named legally along with the birthdate and deathdate. The thing that gives me hope is of course my Lord Jesus and the baby inside of me even though I am scared to death of the outcome. Thanks Bethany for the article. I plan on sending that out to people.
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That is wonderful news! My twins were stillborn at 20 weeks. We were allowed to bury them in a cemetery with a headstone with their birth/death date and their names. However, we have no birth or death certificate. It is an odd situation.
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This is the most awesome ruling to date... I wish that this could happen in the states!
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WOW, Bethany! I can't tell you how much closure this would have given me after losing our baby at 11 1/2 weeks! God is good, and He has provided the comfort we needed and still desire 6 year later. However, there were so many questions that could have been answered if we had the opportunity to view the body (no matter what the circumstances) and have a chance to name this tiny child. As it is, I don't even know the sex and that alone makes it hard sometimes. If we could only have more options in this area, it would be such a blessing! Privileged as we are in this great land, this would truly be a wonderful opportunity! Thanks for sharing it. : )
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Autumn, I am so happy to hear about your son. My son was born the day of 24 weeks. They had told me 5 days earlier, that I had to make it to 24 weeks before they would try to save him. That apparently is the day of viability in Alabama!! Luckily, he waited until that day. He was born at 7:01 am via emergency c-section. He is now 5 yrs old and a very healthy boy!! I was sick at my stomach when I read the article. I lost a baby before at 22 weeks. You can not convince me that he was not a live living baby, while inside of me. I still grieve for that baby. I know we will be reunited one day. Anyway, I am happy to hear about your son.
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Yep, that's good news, and you should also know that abortion is banned here in France (source: I'm French and always lived there) after 12 weeks of gestation (after that, you can only have an abortion if a VERY serious defect is detected, and it has to be approved by a panel of State-appointed doctors).
It's so sad that in the US it's possible to have an abortion at any time for virtually any reason if you can find a doctor willing to do so...
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