Surrogate Mom Gives Birth to Severely Disabled Baby Girl Despite Pressure to Abort

National   |   Emily Derois   |   Mar 7, 2016   |   4:10PM   |   Washington, DC

When Crystal Kelley decided to become a surrogate mother for a Connecticut couple, she couldn’t imagine the difficult decisions she would soon face. Originally both she and the couple were overjoyed that she was pregnant with a little girl, but when ultrasounds revealed a heart defect and cleft lip, the couple demanded that she abort the child.

In an interview with People Magazine, Kelley explained that the couple had written an abortion clause into her contract. This clause stipulated that they could demand an abortion “at any time and for any reason.” This unsettled Kelley, who requested that the clause be completely removed, but eventually allowed them to keep it in the case of a severe fetal abnormality, according to the report.

Several ultrasounds revealed that the unborn baby girl had a heart defect. The couple told Kelly that they did not want to “bring a disabled child into the world,” and requested she have an abortion, the article states. They even offered her $10,000 to abort the baby girl, LifeNews previously reported.

Kelley described her reaction when told to abort the baby she was carrying: “It was all of a sudden, like everything switched. I told her, ‘Let’s remember we talked about this. I’m not willing to terminate a pregnancy for a child with a disability. I’m not terminating the pregnancy unless the baby is going to die.’”

Four days after this jarring conversation, Kelley’s ultrasound confirmed the heart defect. The ultrasound technicians couldn’t find the baby’s stomach, and it was revealed that the little girl had a cleft lip, according to the report.

The couple said they didn’t want to have this child if she was going to live a life of suffering. But Kelley was determined not to give up on the child’s life and explained this to the couple: “You don’t know that she is going to suffer. You don’t know yet what’s really going on. All we have is this ultrasound and the one before, which doesn’t really give us any answers.”

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The source of Kelley’s inspiration was her own daughter, who had heart surgery and was doing well.

“My daughter is happy, healthy and absolutely full of energy. You look at her and you can’t tell that there was anything was ever wrong with her,” Kelley said. “So I wasn’t just going to give up on this baby.”

Thankfully, Kelley stood by her decision to have and protect the baby girl. She moved to Michigan where she would have legal rights as the baby’s mother, according to the report. The little baby girl was born and adopted into a loving family. Now, she is 3 years old.

In the new interview, Kelley described her happiness in her decision to protect the child’s life.

“You have to listen to your gut and by listening to my gut, I was proven right,” Kelley said. “Everything that I believed she would be, she is. She’s alive, she’s capable, she’s growing and learning and doing things that normal toddlers do.”

This story reminds us of the potential in every child’s life. Despite an enormous amount of pressure, Kelley gave birth to a little girl. And because of her brave decision, a toddler is now healthy and happy.

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