Reclaiming Our Children: A Blog About Healing After Abortion

Unfortunately,some priests who out of false compassion, do give permission for those who have been given a poor prenatal diagnosis to terminate the pregnancy. I have worked with a few such couples myself. It is heart wrenching. Once they abort their children, they not only have to deal with what they have done but they also have the added emotions of realizing the advice they have been given by the clergy was wrong. I pray for those priests who somehow justfy abortion. I am glad this woman followed her instincts and did not listen.

Wednesday March 18, 2009

Mother Rejected Advice to Terminate Pregnancy Given by Priest at Centre of 'Early Induction' Scandal

By John-Henry Westen 

TORONTO, March 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – About six months ago
an urgent case came to the attention of pro-life leaders in Canada,
involving a pregnant Catholic woman whose unborn baby was diagnosed
with serious health problems and who was seeking help.  She said
she was receiving conflicting advice from Catholic authorities on
whether or not she should go for an early induction, which would have
caused the death of her child. 

Gillian
DeSouza told LifeSiteNews.com she received advice through her priest,
from Fr. Michael Prieur, the chief ethicist of the London, Ontario
diocese, to go ahead and terminate the pregnancy via early induction. 
DeSouza says that the rationale behind the advice, as explained to
her, was that, "It is possible to do it because I've been given all
this information she's [the baby's] not going to make it, even if she's
born she's not going to live for very long."

Fr. Prieur is known to LifeSiteNews.com readers as the principal author
of the controversial guidelines at St. Joseph's hospital in London,
which permits 'early induction' of babies with lethal fetal anomalies. 
(See coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/feb/09022402.html )

According to Gillian, the advice did not sit right with her mother, so
they decided to speak to another priest, Monsignor Ambrose Sheehy, who
said that even if severely disabled, the child deserved the right to
life.  He urged her to speak with a Catholic doctor who gave her the
same advice – to carry the baby to term.  The advice was "totally
opposite," recalls Gillian, to that given to her by Fr. Prieur through
her priest. 

LifeSiteNews.com contacted Gillian's priest, Fr. John Henry of St.
Isaac Jogues parish in Pickering.  Father Henry confirmed that he had
consulted about Gillian's case with ethicist Fr. Prieur and advised her
based on that counsel.  Asked about the advice, Fr. Henry said it was a
private matter that Gillian would have to divulge.

According
to Gillian, she was informed that "it was not a direct abortion, but an
indirect abortion; so basically because she does not have a very long
chance of survival anyways, it was okay to terminate."  She added,
"That's what my priest found out from Fr. Michael Prieur, that's the
information he found out and passed on to me."

Her baby Jayla is now four months old and could be heard cooing in the
background as Mrs. DeSouza was interviewed. Gillian has become an
expert on her daughter's triple X syndrome and heart defects, and uses
and explains in detail the terminology involved in the condition. 
Jayla is doing fairly well after one surgery, with another scheduled. 
Jayla is neither on a feeding tube nor a ventilator.  She is sleeping
and eating well, but is having trouble gaining weight.

A complication after birth led to treatment for meningitis, which
caused the baby to become profoundly deaf – another blow to the
parents.  But Gillian remains upbeat, noting that her baby is a
candidate for cochlear implants to deal with the deafness.

The child's resilience even from within the womb was one of the factors
which aided Gillian to decide against the advice to terminate.  She's
"a fighter" said Gillian, recalling that Jayla, at 20 weeks gestation,
"was kicking very hard early on so I wanted to give her a chance."

Doctors advised Gillian to induce the baby at just before 24 weeks
gestation, and let the baby die. She was told to decide prior to 24
weeks gestation, and she says she was given the green light by Fr.
Prieur.

However, advice from Monsignor Sheehy and Dr. John Shea, as well as the
prayers of many in the pro-life movement saved the child's life. 

Msgr. Sheehy, pastor of Blessed Trinity Church in Toronto, recalled
that in the conversation with Gillian he stressed that it would not be
morally permissible to go ahead with termination, regardless of the
severity of disability of the child.  The priest was very pleased to
learn from LifeSiteNews.com that he had played a part in Gillian's
opting for life.

Gillian recalled Msgr. Sheehy relating a personal experience regarding
choosing life.  Asked about it, Msgr. Sheehy said: "My own mother was
told before she had me that she would die if she had more children. 
But then I was born and my two sisters after me."  He added: "My mother
will be 93 next week."

LifeSiteNews.com confirmed with Gillian that neither her life nor her health were in danger from the pregnancy.

Fr. Michael Prieur was asked for comment on this story last week but the call was not returned.