Essential Estrogen

This I know: On May 19, 1995 I had a medical procedure known officially as dilation and extraction. I was 26 weeks into a pregnancy (with a son, Dakota) which was never meant to be.

This I know: At 22 weeks I learned the child I so very much wanted suffered from terminal neural tube defects, the worst of which was anencephaly. In the most simple terms, this means the child has no brain… although some have a rudimentary brainstem.

This I know: Some anencephalic children die pre-term, some die during birth, some die a short time after birth. There is no question as to if an anencephalic child will die. The question is when he or she will die.

This I know: Had it not been for the medical procedure known officially as dilation and extraction, I would not be here typing this today. I would be dead after a horrible struggle with infection.

This I know: Had it not been for the medical procedure known officially as dilation and extraction, my husband would be without a wife and my daughter would be without a mother.

This I know: If somehow either of my daughters, or even a future daughter-in-law, has the terrible misfortune of experiencing a similar pregnancy, our family will grieve the loss of not only a grandchild, but a daughter.

This I know: If my daughter suffered an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting, or any other of numerous potentially life threatening situations, no medical professional would hesitate to provide the needed treatment to save her life.

This I know: No court in our land would uphold the decision of a medical professional to purposefully withhold life-saving treatment – until yesterday.

This I know: If you happen upon an automobile accident and find a victim with a crushed skull, a victim with spurting blood and a victim with a slow oozing wound, you should first seek to help the victim with the spurting blood. There is little, if anything you can do to help the person with the crushed skull. The person with the slow-oozing wound might be in pain and/or shock from the injury, but it isn’t immediately life-threatening. The person who is shooting blood, however, has cut an artery and is most definitely in a life-threatening situation.

This I wonder: Tomorrow will the Supreme Court mandate those of us who come upon an accident wait to see what God’s will has in store for the victims before we act?