Here in the United States we didn’t hear much about one of the newest pro-life witnesses: 8-month-old Frieda Mangold.
Baby Frieda set a record. She’s Europe’s most premature baby, and according to reports, she ties the world record for smallest baby with a boy in Ottawa, Canada, who was born in 1987.
When she was born on Nov. 7, 2010, in Germany, Frieda was in the womb just 21 weeks and five days.
She weighed just over a pound (1.01 pounds, or 460 grams) and was 11 inches long. She spent the next few months in the neonatal unit of Klinikum Fulda Children’s Hospital in Fulda, Germany — a town St. Boniface knew well.
When she left the hospital, she weighed 7.71 pounds and stretched out to 20 inches. Certainly, it was no coincidence she went home with her parents John and
Yvonne on Easter weekend.
Dr. Reinald Repp, the chief of the clinic, called her a medical miracle and said everything indicated she would be healthy. (On a somber note, Frieda had a twin brother who lived several weeks, but died of complications in December.)
Pam Caylor talked about what this story means for us. She’s the former executive director and now “ambassador for life” of First Choice Pregnancy Services in Las Vegas that saved more than 2,800 babies last year alone.
“No. 1, the great thing for me is they did give her life-saving measures as soon as she was born,” Caylor said.
“In the United States, that pretty much doesn’t happen before 22 weeks, no matter if the parents want the babies. You pretty much can’t force them (the doctors) to do it. That kind of became the medical standard across the U.S.”
Caylor opined, “This is America. We’re supposed to have the best (medical) service in the world. Why can’t we do it here?”
She remembers getting a call from a woman who was 22 weeks pregnant who was going into labor and wanted Caylor’s First Choice to intervene to make sure the baby would be treated. They teamed with national ministries to get the mother past 22 weeks.
The survival of such a small baby teaches vital lessons about the sanctity and vitality of life at its smallest. “This story helps to break down the lies the abortion industry has sold to the general public,” Caylor said. “Truth is an absolute defense. That’s why we are always on the winning side: because we have truth on our side.”
This time, truth’s name is Frieda.
Register staff writer Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.
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I wish the world could see more of this. That it was proclaimed. Shown as God’s truth and God’s hand and that this IS life. I wish I could show a picture of my own daughters, both preemies, one weighing 1 lb 12 oz who is normal and healthy and so much fun. She’ll be turning 12 years old in a couple of weeks. Even early, life is LIFE, and they feel and they love and they grow and they need a chance at life, cuz so much happens for them, even when so very early.
I just finished my pediatrics course in my studies to become an RN, and I did my clinical rotation in the NICU(Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). While I didn’t see any babies as young as Frieda, it was amazing to see all the premies and how well some of them progressed as they approached being ‘term’ age. Clearly, there is no need for an arbitrary time limit on whether we should try to save a baby’s life or not; the only limit should be that of the technology available and human ingenuity, with a bit of God’s grace and blessings to hold it all together.
Another form of truth is that women are raped, abused and molested. They should not have to be forced to have that baby because CATHOLICS say so. Its wrong to push your choice onto their right of choise, didn’t GOD give us the freedom of choice???
Jess,
Not exactly. He gave us Free Will. Some people have renamed it “freedom of choice” but they have the choices mixed up.
If anyone wants to kill an innocent miracle baby because it is inconvenient, they may do so… but they will suffer the consequences. Whether that is anguish here on earth… or in the fiery pits of hell.
Jess,
Just to followup on your line of thinking…if your mother tells you today that you that you were conceived from a rape, should she have the right to kill you today?
Someone who was raped, abused and molested should be given love and compassion, not a “choice” that will compound the suffering she has endured. Please don’t confuse the freedom of choice with the freedom to kill.
to Jess:
God gave us the freedom of choice. He even had Moses tell the Israelites he put before them the choice of life or the choice of death. God gave them the freedom to choose. He does not force anyone. But not all choices are good. Moses urged the people to choose life. The consequences were spelled out. Choosing life would lead to blessings, choosing death would lead to horrors. He also said through his prophet, Woe to those who call good evil and evil good.
Yes, he did give us a choice. As I read this article I see this family chose the life, the blessings!
Jess,
so let’s put religion aside for a moment. A woman who is raped, abused or molested should punish her innocent child because of the crime of the father? The father is the one who should pay for his crime and if you eliminated the child, you have eliminated all evidence of the crime inorder to convict him. Please read this. http://www.all.org/article/index/id/ODk1NQ/
Yes Jess, God did give us the freedom of choice. We are free to choose, to rape, abuse and molest, and to kill out babies too. Do you really think that it is because Catholics say so that these choices are wrong? Keep your freedom and make the right choices and we will all be happy.
Actually, Jess, the argument for abortion due to rape is a straw man argument. A miniscule number of abortions are due to rape. God gave us free will, not what you are calling freedom of choice. We have the freedom to make good choices and bad choices. Another name for freedom of choice is autonomy. The exercise of our autonomy is not unlimited. We have autonomy based on our intrinsic dignity as human beings. We cannot rightly exercise our autonomy if it undermines the intrinsic dignity of a human person because we would be undermining the very thing that gives us our autonomy. Human life begins at conception and has this intrinsic dignity at the moment of conception. Abortion attacks this intrinsic dignity and therefore cannot be justified by appealing to autonomy.
Jess,
I agree with you 100% and I hate it when people say “Rapes make up for less than 1% of abortions..” Rape statistics are so skewed. :/ We still live in a world barbaric enough to blame women or tell them that they were asking for it or call them awful names for a horrific event they had no control over.
They’re not going to be like “O Hai Dr. Abortion! Well, my boyfriend beats me and I want this baby gone so he won’t kick me out of the house, but please don’t report him, because without him I’d be on the streets.” And the horrible thing is that it’s true more often than people would like to think. I bet everyone here has heard of Stockholm Syndrome? It’s not just for hostages anymore, in fact most of the worst cases of Stockholm Syndrome occur in women who can easily just walk out and get help, it’s basically the main reason why people have such a hard time getting out of abusive relationships.
Anyways, before I ramble on too long… I am pro-choice, the beautiful thing about being pro-choice is it does not mean you are anti-life, but being pro-life DOES mean that you are anti-choice.
Emily, your entire post speaks to me of the exact reason why victims of violence should not be shamed into doing violence to their own children.
You can call out buzzwords like “anti-choice” all you want. Depending on what the “choice” in question is, I might wear that label with pride. I would like it very much if you would contemplate the many “choices” that I am sure you are all too happy to deny your fellow countrymen (and women): the “choice” to steal, to vandalize, perjure, murder, push drugs to kids…apropos, how about the “choice” to rape? What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right? Are you okay with Ted Bundy’s “right” to “choose”? How about…aw, I dunno…Casey Anthony’s? I mean, if she had been convicted, of course. Forgive me, and try to forget I said that.
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