The tweet from Planned Parenthood Maryland reads: “After Surgery in the Womb, a Baby Kicks Up Hope.”
https://twitter.com/PPMaryland/status/953392697242464256
That’s right. Planned Parenthood admitted that a child in his mother’s womb is, indeed, a “baby.” As in a living, breathing individual. Go ahead and enjoy the shock and awe of such gross hypocrisy on the part of the nation’s largest abortion provider. But, don’t forget to enjoy the story they linked via the New York Times about successful spina bifida surgery in-utero:
On Sept. 27, as a six-month-old fetus, [Baby Royer] underwent experimental surgery while still in his mother’s womb to treat a severe form of spina bifida, in which the tissue that should enclose and protect the spinal column does not form properly.
The condition leaves the spine open with nerves exposed, and they sustain damage that can leave a child incontinent and unable to walk. The opening leaks spinal fluid, and the base of the brain can sink into the spinal column and be harmed by pressure.
Research has shown that for carefully selected fetuses, surgery before birth rather than after gives the child better odds of being able to walk independently and of avoiding the need for an implanted shunt to prevent fluid buildup in the brain.
Usually, the prenatal surgery requires cutting open the uterus. But after carefully studying the options and consulting various specialists, Lexi and Joshuwa Royer chose an experimental approach. In that procedure, developed at Texas Children’s Hospital by Dr. Michael Belfort, the obstetrician and gynecologist-in-chief, and Dr. William Whitehead, a pediatric neurosurgeon, doctors make just tiny slits in the uterus to insert a camera and miniature instruments. The camera sends images to a monitor that the surgeons watch so they can see what they are doing.
This unique surgery allows the mother to deliver vaginally instead of defaulting to a C-section. The surgery was so successful that Mrs. Royer’s pregnancy continued without complications. When Baby Royer was born he needed an hour with plastic surgeons to close up the two incisions made by the micro-instruments. Later that evening he ate two great meals and slept, well, like a baby. However, the report warns: “A battery of tests lay ahead. Fetal surgery does not cure spina bifida, doctors warn. It only lessens the disability. So, for Baby Royer, time will tell.”
Still, the Royers felt nothing but hope. Minutes after he was born, Baby Royer not only moved his legs and feet, he also attempted to kick away from nurses when laid on his stomach.
According to the CDC, nearly 1,500 babies are born each year with spina bifida. Depending on the severity of the condition, medical professionals may advise parents to abort the pregnancy once spina bifida is discovered. Such was the case with one New Zealand couple, the first from their country to travel to Australia to pursue in-utero surgery for the condition. (Eighty percent of New Zealand babies diagnosed with the condition are aborted.)
Mom and Dad Royer encourage all parents to “do their research” and know their options before committing to any plan for treatment.
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