Woman With Cancer Dies Months After Aborting Her Baby in Attempt to Save Her Life

International   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Apr 11, 2018   |   11:33AM   |   London, England

An already heartbreaking story of a British mother who aborted her unborn baby when she found out she had cancer turned doubly tragic this week when she also died.

Now, two precious, unique human lives are gone from the world forever.

The Daily Mail reports Charlotte Smith, 22, of North Yorkshire, England, died of sepsis earlier this week in the midst of her battle with cancer.

Several months ago, Smith was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia while pregnant. Doctors urged to abort her 11-week unborn child so that she could begin chemotherapy, and Smith listened, according to the report.

“The only thing I was bothered about was the baby. But it was either my life or the child’s, and I didn’t want to die,” Smith told reporters earlier this year.

While pro-lifers acknowledge there are very rare, tragic circumstances in pregnancy when the mother’s and unborn child’s lives both cannot be saved, it’s difficult not to wonder if doctors discouraged or even failed to mention a third option to Smith: beginning chemotherapy while pregnant.

A 2015 study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests women can safely undergo cancer treatments while pregnant without any major risks of birth defects. That does not mean having cancer while pregnant is not a terrible ordeal, but the research indicates that abortion is not necessary and there is a chance that both lives can be saved.

Here’s more about Smith’s story:

Mrs Smith told The Mirror in August how her pregnancy came as a shock and was initially free of any medical issues.

However, after just a matter of weeks she began to feel ill, suffering from back pain, bouts of vomiting and tiredness.

She put it down to ‘the pregnancy’ – until a routine blood test after 10 weeks found an abnormality and doctors became concerned.

Mrs Smith was given the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia the next day and a treatment plan was drawn up. …

Mrs Smith agreed to have a termination, as part of a request by medics, with the promise of having an ultrasound to see her baby first.

A first round of chemotherapy, which began immediately, proved unsuccessful and the second round led to her being admitted to intensive care.

Now, family and friends are mourning the loss of two lives. One of Smith’s friends, Abbie McMahon, said she was shocked to hear about her friend’s death.

“She was so kind-hearted and positive even after everything she went through,” she said online. “She will be remembered for being such an amazing woman, and will be very missed.”

Doctors, it seems, are increasingly pressuring pregnant moms to abort their unborn babies in such tragic situations.

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Last year, a similarly heartbreaking situation played out with an American mother and her unborn daughter. However, in that case, Carrie DeKlyen refused to begin cancer treatments while pregnant.

The 37-year-old was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a terminal brain cancer. WOOD TV reported at the time that Carrie refused to participate in a clinical trial that could have prolonged her life because doctors said she would have had to abort her unborn baby.

She died on Sept. 9, just two days after her daughter Life was born. Tragically, Life also died several days later.

In yet another case, British mom Chelsea Nally and her unborn son both lived after she was diagnosed with cancer and refused abortion. Nally was diagnosed with breast cancer early in her pregnancy. Her doctors initially discussed abortion as an option for her unborn baby boy, Finley, but she refused. Later, when tests revealed that her cancer was limited to her left breast, the doctors did not push the idea, and Nally said she felt relieved.

“Holding him in my arms for the first time I felt like my biggest battle was over,” she said. “I couldn’t believe we had both survived pregnancy and chemo. He is my hero, even before he was born he had saved my life.”